Tennis requires mental toughness, analytical thinking, and emotional control. While you may not have considered it before, these are the exact same three characteristics needed to excel at poker and other casino-based games. To compare further, both activities also require you to analyze your opponents, manage your risks, and develop game-specific strategies.
Given these parallels, it’s no wonder that some of the biggest tennis stars of today also like to gamble. They don’t only take their tennis winnings to brick-and-mortar casinos, but many are also known to use online casino platforms.
This is unsurprising, given that online casinos tend to have higher payout percentages. In this list by Techopedia, Vlad Grindu points out that the RTP (return to player) rate can be as high as 99% in online casinos, and as low as 70% in land-based casinos. Tennis stars, understandably, like to maintain as much of their winnings as possible.
But, who are the biggest gamblers in the tennis world? Let’s find out:
Rafael Nadal
The biggest household name on this list is none other than the Spanish legend Rafael Nadal. On top of his 92 career titles in tennis, Nadal has also discovered he’s particularly good at poker. He started playing with friends in Mallorca and found himself walking away with impressive winnings at the end of each night. So, he decided to take it to the next level.
In 2012, he became a PokerStars Ambassador and often took part in online competitions. During one notable game, he staked €10 ($10.97), beat 47 opponents, and walked away with €152.40 ($166.69). This princely sum is, of course, nothing compared to his $220 million net worth. Still, the fact he won against so many opponents proves his poker proficiency.
Jimmy Connors
Between 1972 and 1996, the US tennis star Jimmy Connors won 109 singles titles and 16 doubles titles. However, his successful tennis career on the court was somewhat overshadowed by his rockstar lifestyle off-court. Outside of tennis, Connors was known to live life to the fullest and was often spotted at some of the biggest gambling resorts around the world.
While it’s not known how much Connors won from table games, it is known that he was very passionate about gambling. Whether or not he’s won as much as Nadal from gambling is unknown.
Boris Becker
Throughout his 16-year career, Boris Becker proved himself as one of the greatest tennis stars ever. In total, he made $25,080,956 from tour money and won 49 championships. There’s a reason that he spent some time as Djokovic’s coach.
Since retiring in 1999, Becker has not only dedicated himself to training aspiring tennis stars but also his love of poker. He’s the only player on this list to have been both a professional tennis and poker player, having participated in several professional competitions.
He’s appeared in both the World Poker Tour as well as the European Poker Tour. In 2018, it was announced that he had made €91,487 ($100,000) from professional poker. However, given that Becker continues to play poker to this day, it’s likely that he’s earned even more than that amount now.
Like Nadal, Becker was an ambassador for PokerStars between 2007 and 2013. Since 2016, he’s served as an ambassador to partypoker.
His biggest poker victory came in the European Poker Tour in Berlin in 2013. He came 49th and won €15,000 ($16,392). His playing style is often described as aggressive – much like his approach to tennis.
Gus Hansen
Gus Hansen is known first and foremost as “the Great Dane” in the poker world. He has won three WPT trophies and has one World Series of Poker bracelet to his name. However, few people know that Hansen is multitalented, and was once a promising star in both backgammon and tennis.
He was a youth tennis champion in his native Denmark and could have had a promising career on the court if he had decided to stick with it. Instead, he decided that his main calling in life was poker. In 1997 at the age of 23, he turned pro and quickly became one of the biggest stars in poker.
Hansen is not the only professional poker player to have followed this trajectory. The Finnish player Patrik Antonius, who is currently 37th on the All-Time Money List Current Rank, was once also a promising tennis player. However, a back injury forced him out of the sport and onto the poker table. He has since made an estimated $12 million from live poker.
Interestingly, Hansen and Antonius have faced each other many times throughout their poker careers, which has made for an interesting, tennis-like face-off. Hansen is known for his aggression and unpredictability, while Antonius is known for his calm approach to the game.
