Maya Joint, an 18-year-old American-born Australian who looks like she might have a long tennis career ahead of her, was pretty chipper for someone who had just left nearly $140,000 on the table.
Joint, who is from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, lost her second-round match to No 14 seed Madison Keys, who rolled her 6-4, 6-0 in Arthur Ashe Stadium Wednesday.
By winning three matches in qualifying and making the second round, Joint won $140,000. NCAA rules prevent her from collecting a penny beyond $10,000 of it, except what she spent on “actual and necessary” expenses related to the tournament. Why is this absurd?
Because in the age of NIL (name, image and likeness) a college athlete can earn $1 million for signing autographs at a local car dealership on a Friday afternoon, but a tennis player can’t collect money that she has earned through her hard work.
Change could be coming. Here is why.
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