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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Matt Hughes

‘Grand slams are the engine to make a living’: Mackenzie McDonald on why players still compete when injured

Mackenzie McDonald plays a return to Alex de Minaur during their first round match at the 2026 Australian Open.
Mackenzie McDonald has played on the ATP Tour for 10 years and reached the world’s top 60 in 2019. Photograph: Aaron Favila/AP

For Mackenzie McDonald the players’ push for greater prize money and welfare contributions from the grand slam tournaments could result in the difference between putting food on the table and making a decent living.

After 10 years on the ATP Tour the 31-year-old American is not pleading poverty, but knows that life on the professional circuit can be a hand-to-mouth existence, with players’ physical and mental welfare often compromised due to their desperation to get back on court.

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