British No 719 misses out on £59,000 payday due to obscure rule

World No 719 Oliver Tarvet claimed the biggest victory of his career on Monday as he defeated Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi in straight sets at Wimbledon. 

But despite hailing from St Albans, Hertfordshire and triumphing in front of a jubilant home crowd at SW19, the 21-year-old will not be able to claim the majority of the £66,000 prize pot afforded to him for reaching the second round. 

Tarvet, who advanced past the Swiss 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Court 2, currently plays on the US collegiate circuit and has one year remaining of his degree at the University of San Diego – and most college sports in the United States are amateur.

Student athletes can claim up to $10,000 (£7,300) per year from any prize money, which they can use to put towards expenses and entrance fees. 

However, that did not appear to hinder the Brit who claimed an impressive victory after progressing through the qualifying rounds to set up a clash against either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Fabio Fognini.

‘There are a lot of emotions,’ Tarvet told the BBC after his debut win. ‘I’m just really overjoyed to be in this situation. All the hard work that I’ve put in over the last few years has clearly paid off. 

‘I was just taking it match-by-match to see what I could do. Obviously, it’s my first tour-level event and to come out here, come through qualifying and then also win a first round at Wimbledon and have a chance to play maybe Carlos [Alcaraz] is just truly incredible.

‘It’s a dream come true for me to play at Wimbledon and it’s really special.’

Tarvet’s peculiar situation is not the the first time such an incident has occurred after a player had managed to qualify for the main draw at SW19. 

Last year, Australian Maya Joint, who beat Emma Raducanu at Eastbourne last week, forfeited more than $200,000 (£145,000) in prize money, after reaching the second round of the US Open while she was an amateur at the University of Texas.  

Tarvet joked that he ‘has to find more and more expenses by the day’ and insisted that his focus is not on the prize fund but instead on the crowd, experience and the opportunity to make a mark on the tour.    

On the prospect of playing against Alacaraz on a big court at his home Grand Slam, he added: ‘You work for these types of moments.

‘You work to play on the most prestigious court in the world. 

‘It’s really special, so I’m really thankful for everyone; the crowd, University of San Diego, Unique Tennis, the coaches there, head coach Ryan Keckley – who flew in this morning – and my assistant. 

‘It’s really special for all the hard work to come together  – it’s such an important stage of the tennis calendar and I’m just really overjoyed.’