How the ATP basic system has supported Jesper de Jong’s breakout 2025 season | ATP Tour

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How ATP’s Baseline program has supported Jesper de Jong’s 2025 season

Youth Investment, Micro Guarantee and Damage Protection are the three pillars of ATP’s financial support program

January 18, 2026

The life of a professional tennis player is full of stress: Match-day stress, last-minute travel arrangements and, for many outside the Top 100, financial uncertainty.

Dutchman Jesper de Jong knows that better than most. The 25-year-old earned his first ATP point in 2019 and was yet to crack the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings at the end of the 2024 season, when he finished No.

Limited resources meant that he could not invest significant funds to accelerate his development.

But a $200,000 advance payment at the start of the 2025 season courtesy of the ATP Basic Program enabled De Jong to make plans that contributed to a breakout season that returned 17 wins and a year-end ranking of No. 73.

He earned more than $780,000, putting him on the path to financial independence.

“When it comes to the season, there is no guarantee that you will earn a certain amount of money, which makes it difficult to invest money that gives you a good chance to succeed,” said De Jong about the Baseline Program in which he succeeded under the pillar of Newcomer Investment. “With Newcomer you get $200,00 and you can plan how you will distribute the season.

“That brings a sense of calm. Without help, you might plan to use that on the coaches but then you get injured and you can’t keep that commitment.”

Newcomer Investment is available to players who entered the Top 125 Year-End Rankings for the first time in the previous season. In 2025, De Jong was one of the five players to benefit from this program.

De Jong used Newcomer Investment to travel a full season for the first time with fitness coach Bas van Bentum (who previously worked with Tallon Griekspoor). It also allowed him to add coach Thiemo De Bakker to his team. World No. The former 40 went for 15 weeks with De Jong.

Eligible and participating players such as De Jong return to the total amount of $ 200,000, which from 2026 is given as a three-year loan. Players return 50 percent of prize money from ATP tournaments [not Grand Slams] and by performing extrajudicial services.

For De Jong, the program changed the game, allowing him to keep his commitment with Van Bentum and De Bakker, even after a slow start to the season.

“Last year in January I didn’t win a game and I had a lot of expenses to go to Australia. So having a New Comer was a big relief. Your full year [of expected costs] covered by ATP,” said De Jong.

“I’ve talked to other players and everybody likes it. I had a good season last year and I made good money, but some guys didn’t have their best year and didn’t make a lot of money. So Newcomer was a big deal for them.”

Newcomer Investment is one of the three pillars of the ATP’s Baseline initiative, which aims to create additional financial support outside of court revenue so that players can continue to earn a living through the sport. This is the second year of the three-year trial.

In 2025, the program awarded 30 eligible players a total of $2 million, up from splitting $1.3 million among 26 players in 2024.

The Minimum Guarantee Pillar guarantees a minimum income level for the Top 250 players. The ATP makes up any shortfall to ensure that players 1-100 earn a minimum of $300,000, players 101-175 earn $200,000 or more and players 176-250 earn no less than $100,000. In 2025, 24 players won.

The pillar of the Income Protection guarantee supports players returning to the Tour after injury.

In last year’s Australian Open, De Jong went out in the first round of qualifying. With his ranking now at No. 73 – just two places in the top rankings – he finds himself in the big tournament, where he will face former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.

He is looking forward to the challenge of playing one of the top players following his matches with top ten star Jannik Sinner [Rome] and Alexander Zverev [Roland Garros] last year.

“For your chances of winning you don’t want to draw a top player like Medvedev, but at the same time it’s a chance to face the biggest players in the sport,” said De Jong.

“With Sinner last year he was going back to Rome, so it was like I was entering the lion’s den. It was very difficult but playing with him on that field was something I enjoyed a lot. I played a great game, I felt.

“Against Zverev, I was coming back from two sets down in the first round and I came out and played a good first set, won it. But he physically killed me in the end and won four.”