Nigeria’s top table tennis player, Quadri Aruna, has expressed concern over the financial hardships faced by professional players, revealing that earnings from major international tournaments remain disappointingly low.
Aruna, who made history as the first African to break into the World Top 10 and has represented Nigeria at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics—reaching the quarter-finals in Rio—spoke candidly about the economic struggles elite athletes face despite their high-level performances.
“Back in the day, during the Challenge Series, Challenge Plus, and Super Series, the prize money wasn’t much, but we didn’t play as many tournaments, so expenses were manageable,” Aruna explained. “Now, it’s extremely costly. You could fight your way from the group stage to the semi-finals and still walk away with nothing,” lamented the 36-year-old star.
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He stressed that players often bear the brunt of unpredictable match schedules and constant travel, which leads to mounting expenses.
He continued: “You may have to change your flight more than twice and pay for extra nights at the hotel. In the end, you’ve taken a huge risk and still come out with nothing.”
Citing a recent example from China, Aruna elaborated: “Let’s say you earn $8,000 for losing in the first round. After 20% tax is deducted, and you’ve spent about €1,600 on flights because you don’t know your match day in advance and can’t book a round-trip you may end up spending even more. Eventually, you’re left with about €3,000 or even less.”
He added: “You win money, pay tax, reinvest it into your next event and in the end, your balance is zero. Does that really make any sense? Everything may look glamorous from the outside, but the truth is, nobody is really making money.”
Despite these financial hardships, Aruna remains a trailblazer for African table tennis. In 2018, he was recognized by the Olympic Channel as Africa’s most successful Olympic table tennis player of all time.
