'I quit for two months': Dane Sweeny's wild journey as he keeps the dream alive
- Sean A'Hearn
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
For every Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz lifting Grand Slam trophies, there are hundreds of professional tennis players living a very different reality.
They criss-cross the globe chasing ranking points, booking budget flights, sharing accommodation and carefully calculating whether the next tournament is financially worthwhile. They are good enough to be among the best players in the world, but not yet established enough to enjoy the security that comes with the top 100.
Dane Sweeny knows that life better than most.
"Obviously, lately I haven't been doing so well results-wise, so the wildcard's always just a bonus," Sweeny told The First Serve. "I wasn't really expecting anything… once I got that news, I was really excited because I think it's a credit to all the work I've put in over the last 12 months."
More than anything, it reinforced just how fortunate he feels to be Australian.
"I feel extremely lucky being from Australia, having that opportunity to even be able to fight for a wildcard," he said. "I'm incredibly lucky."
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That gratitude is shaped by experience.
Only a few years ago, Sweeny believed he was on the verge of establishing himself on the ATP Tour. After qualifying for the Australian Open, reaching Challenger semi-finals and climbing to around world No.200, he thought a place inside the top 100 was within reach.
Instead, his career unravelled.
Within 12 months, his ranking had plummeted to around No.700. He lost nine matches in succession, found himself back on the ITF Futures circuit and, for the first time, genuinely questioned whether he was good enough to make it.
"I got to the point where I just couldn't really do the tennis journey anymore," he shared. "I quit for two months."
It wasn't simply the losses that hurt.
"It was the first time where I really was like, 'Wow, maybe I don't actually have what it takes'."
Like many athletes, Sweeny's confidence became tied almost entirely to results. The more he lost, the more he analysed every aspect of his game until the sport he loved became something he dreaded.
"I started to really dislike tennis," he admitted. "I didn't want to be out there. I felt like I was suffering. I wasn't enjoying the journey."
The turning point came after Wimbledon in 2024.
Stepping away from tennis for two months gave Sweeny something years on Tour hadn't — a chance to rediscover why he started playing in the first place.
"I wasn't actually sure if I was going to play again," he said.
"But in that time I realised tennis is something I love. I missed the feeling of competing. I missed the ball coming off the strings."
When he returned, the objective was no longer to chase rankings.
Instead, he embraced the difficult parts of professional tennis that he had previously resisted.
"The fear, the nerves, the discipline — all the things that are really tough — I actually started to see them as the gifts of the journey," he said. "They allowed me to learn about myself and grow."
The shift was subtle but profound.
Rather than measuring success solely by wins and losses, Sweeny focused on becoming a better player — and person. Ironically, once the pressure eased, the results followed.
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Today, he sits at a career-high ranking of No.121 and is preparing for his first direct main-draw appearance at Flushing Meadows.
His story also highlights the financial tightrope walked by players outside the game's elite.
Even without travelling with a coach, Sweeny estimates his annual expenses are around AUD$100,000.
"Without a coach… probably about a hundred grand a year," he said.
Add a coach to the travelling party, and those costs can balloon to between AUD$200,000-250,000.
For many players ranked outside the top 100, that's a daunting equation.
Sweeny is quick to acknowledge one significant advantage.
"I would say firstly I'm extremely lucky to be from Australia because a lot of my prize money is from the Australian Open and having wildcards," he said. "I do feel it's a lot harder not being from a Grand Slam nation."
That reality helps explain why so many talented players quietly disappear from the sport.
Sweeny has watched plenty of them walk away, not because they lacked ability, but because professional tennis became financially and emotionally unsustainable.
"You see a lot of really good players quit," he said. "Not because they're not good enough, but because it's just so hard."
It's one reason he and fellow Australian Calum Puttergill launched their YouTube series, Life on the Tour.
The idea came after a suggestion from a follower on Instagram, but it quickly became something much bigger than documenting airport lounges and hotel rooms.
"I wanted something that I could put my time into outside of tennis," Sweeny said.
While the channel could eventually become another source of income, that wasn't the primary motivation.
"I think building a community was something me and Cal were really attracted to," he explained. "It feels like our way of giving back."
Through candid videos, the pair pull back the curtain on life outside Centre Court — sharing weekly expenses, travel challenges and the realities of chasing a living on tour.
For Sweeny, the most rewarding part isn't the views.
"It's the comments we get… especially from kids," he said. "Feeling inspired and feeling that sense of community. That's what keeps me going now."
Looking ahead, he believes there is room for Australian tennis to better support players outside the top tier.
While he stopped short of offering solutions to the broader distribution of prize money, he would welcome the return of a domestic competition similar to the former Australian Tennis League.
"I'd really love for something like an ATL to come back," he said.
"You don't have to sacrifice your whole life to go live life on the tour. You can still provide for your family, play good tennis and not have to leave Australia."
It's an idea born from lived experience.
Because for every Grand Slam champion lifting a trophy, there are dozens of players like Dane Sweeny — good enough to belong among the world's best, yet still fighting every week for the opportunity to stay there.
They are tennis' forgotten middle class, grinding it out on a pro tour that is often brutal – financially, physically, and especially emotionally.
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