Why a professional tennis player turned to OnlyFans to help fund her career - and she may not be the last

Sachia Vickery of the United States during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Tuesday. Aug. 29, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Vera Nieuwenhuis)

Sachia Vickery admits that when she dreamed of being a professional tennis player as youngster, she never imagined that one day she’d be uploading images of herself to a website infamous for adult content.

“I mean, obviously not,” she told CNN in a phone interview, “It’s not something you really think about doing.”

But that all changed this year when a shoulder injury sidelined her for six months and she began posting content on OnlyFans to bring in extra money while she was hurt. Vickery’s highest world ranking of 73rd was achieved in 2018, and she’s currently just outside the top 550. Although her career prize money is listed at US$2.1 million, she argues that it’s much less money than it sounds.

“I can tell you, $2 million is absolutely nothing when it comes to tennis. I spent over $100,000 on coaching, fitness, physio, recovery, MRIs – people don’t see that part of it.” Vickery added, “Having a security blanket, something to do on the side and make good money from, doesn’t hurt. It’s given me a lot of financial freedom, even helping me fund my entire tennis career.”

Founded in 2016, OnlyFans is an online subscription platform that allows users to post videos and photos for their fans. While the content isn’t always overtly NSFW — Cardi B has used the platform in the past to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at her life and work — the website has become primarily known as a platform for adult content, everything from niche kinks and feet pictures to sexting and more explicit X-rated videos.

Fans pay a set cost per month to access this content, with the option to pay more for additional videos or experiences. As of 2024, the platform boasts more than 4 million creators.

Vickery told CNN Sports her association with OnlyFans began when she connected with the Australian player Nick Kyrgios in March to create some pickleball content for the site’s TV platform. From there, she realized that she could offer some more intimate content and – although she wouldn’t reveal exactly how much revenue she has generated so far – she says that she hit around six figures within the first three months and it’s “probably more than what I made at the slams and so far, it’s only going up, it’s getting higher.”

Among athletes, particularly in less lucrative sports, OnlyFans has become an increasingly popular side gig. Alysha Newman, a Canadian pole vaulter, joined the platform in 2021 and MMA fighter Paige VanZant said she made more money in 24 hours on OnlyFans than in her entire fighting career. Basketballer Liz Cambage made similar claims, saying she earned more on OnlyFans than during six years in the WNBA.

Vickery isn’t the only tennis player who has turned to OnlyFans, but she’s one of the few who have leaned into more intimate content. French player Alexandre Müller is sponsored by the platform, where he says he posts mainly about tennis and daily life. Kyrgios hosted his show alongside adult film star Rachel Starr and reality TV persona Sophie Stonehouse. Australian player Arina Rodionova joined earlier this year, stating she would post “NO NUDES,” and mainly focus on normal life with an occasional bikini picture.

Clearing up some misconceptions

When the media learned that subscribers were paying $12.99 a month for Vickery’s content on the site, the 30-year-old American was labeled a sex worker by The Daily Mail, with references to her “scandalous” and “spicy” pictures.

Vickery told CNN Sports that her content wasn’t anything of the sort.

“I have no sexual content on there,” she said. “I have no nude content. Obviously, I have lingerie content, I have content where I’m really pushing the boundaries, but I’m never fully naked. I’ve never done sex videos.”

Vickery points out that she’s still an active tennis professional who understands that anything more risqué could breach the sport’s code of conduct, saying, “I’m just OK where I’m at.” She also clarified that her recent Instagram comment that she would only date men who paid her a deposit of $1,000 first was a joke.

Vickery says she understood that as soon as she joined the site she would be judged.

“When they see you have OnlyFans, they automatically connect you with being, like, OK, she’s a porn star. People don’t understand there’s a lot of different levels to OnlyFans,” she said.

Recalling her checklist of pros and cons before joining the site, she added, “I saw it coming, and if it’s something that you can’t handle, you shouldn’t be on the platform in the first place. I don’t care what people think about me, I have extremely thick skin.”

‘Is it worth looking into?’

Describing herself as a “hustler,” Vickery says that some tennis players have approached her with curiosity about the site.

“We don’t have the luxury of having a safety net or financial freedom if we’re not inside the top 100,” she said. “I have had players, you know, kind of ask me curiously, what’s the money on there? Is it worth looking into? If you’re injured, you’re not making any money. Even when you’re playing a full year, a lot of players are in the red. I wouldn’t be surprised if I started seeing more players on there.”

To be clear, Vickery told CNN Sports that she doesn’t need the money she earns with OnlyFans, but she does it because it’s such an “easy source of income.” However, she says that the financial pressures for many lower-ranked players are unsustainable, and she warned the sport’s governing bodies to pay more attention to their plight.

“If you don’t want players on OnlyFans, why don’t we set up a system where you actually pay players outside of top 100 what we deserve? And this has been an argument for years. I honestly think if tennis were a sport where players were getting paid what we actually deserve, you wouldn’t have people betting or doing OnlyFans or whatever it is.”

The WTA is working toward equal prize money on the tour’s biggest events, including a commitment for $400 million in prize money that will help build to equal prize money at combined events by 2027 and all WTA 1000/500 events by 2033. The prize pot in 2025 is a record $249 million, up 13 per cent from last year. That includes the record $90 million purse at stake in the US Open that begins next week.

For now, Vickery is just glad to be playing tennis again. At the US Open this week, she returned to action for the first time in six months, losing in the second round of qualifying. But she knows that she’s in the twilight of her playing career and is excited to have discovered another revenue stream.

“If men want to throw money at me,” she concluded, “why would I not take it? Wearing a bikini or wearing a swimsuit or working out is what I do all throughout the day. The only difference is, I’m documenting them now. For me, it’s not a big deal.”

When asked if she’d consider taking her OnlyFans career further when she retired from tennis, she said, “Right now, I’d say it’s a definite no,” adding, “if I had an opportunity to make a lot of money going that route, I wouldn’t completely close the door on it. Pornography and sex videos, I don’t think I’d be able to do, but I’d be lying if I say I hadn’t thought about it.”

By Don Riddell, CNN

CNN’s Leah Asmelash contributed to this report.