- British star Oliver Tarvet, 21, keep shouting ‘Gareth!’ after winning a point
- Tarvet has earned £66k in prizemoney but can’t keep it as a US student athlete
- WIN WIMBLEDON TICKETS in exclusive M+ competition with Emirates
Wimbledon always throws up a few quirky storylines in the first few days and this time one has come early: why does that British qualifier keep screaming ‘Gareth!’ after winning a point?
The mystery arose as 21-year-old Oliver Tarvet, a college player at San Diego, won his way into the draw. After two interviews we have got as far as establishing it is a reference to former Wales and Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale.
Following his third win which gave him a place in the main draw, Tarvet revealed he was shouting about ‘a soccer player’. And so in his pre-tournament press conference, there came what is surely one of the most bizarre exchanges at Wimbledon.
‘Gareth Bale?’ we asked. ‘Gareth Southgate?’
‘You’re figuring it out,’ said Tarvet. ‘I think I gave a little bit too much information, but, yeah, it’s one of those two guys. You’re cracking the code.’
Come on, people are wondering who it is.
‘They’re gonna have to wander. I’m sorry. My team-mates were already annoyed at me for how much information I gave out.
‘It’s just the inside joke to keep guys accountable of their decision making. That’s all I’m gonna say.’
Strange rituals and routines develop amongst college athletes so we’ll have to let Tarvet keep his secrets for now. The Wimbledon debutant has an enticing draw, with fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi up first – and the winner of that due to face the two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Regardless, Tarvet is guaranteed £66,000 in Wimbledon prizemoney – except he isn’t. As a student athlete, the NCAA, which runs college sport in America, forbids him from taking home more than $10,000 in profit; everything else either has to be written off as expenses or will be returned to the All England Club.
The £66,000 equates to $91,000 so, even after the American tax man takes his cut, Tarvet is still in the absurd position of having to accrue tens of thousands of dollars in expenses, or giving up his cash.
‘I’m going to fly my coach in first class!’ he joked. ‘There’s a girl, I can’t remember her name, she appealed to the to the NCAA, there’s been complaints about it. I don’t want to speak too much about it but in my opinion, I’ve worked hard to get this money. I don’t feel like it’s undeserved the money that I’ve got. So I think it would be good to see a change in the rules of the NCAA.’
