Professional tennis player Sachia Vickery is making headlines off the court — and sparking a wave of conversation online — after revealing her bold new approach to dating.
The 30-year-old athlete, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 73 in the world in 2018, recently told fans that she now requires a $1,000 pre-date deposit from potential suitors.
“I no longer date for free due to the behavior of men,” Vickery said in a social media post. “I now require a pre-date deposit. Send me $1,000, and we can make it happen.”
To prove she wasn’t joking, the Florida native even shared a screenshot of someone who had already sent the money.
“Y’all thought I was joking 😂😂😂,” she wrote alongside the receipt. “1k pre date deposit is now my requirement… think of it as a future investment like this gentleman 😘.”
The announcement comes just weeks after Vickery launched her own OnlyFans account. On this account, she shares what she describes as “content too spicy for Instagram” with subscribers for $12.99 a month.
She explained that the move was partly financial. Competing professionally is “extremely expensive,” with annual travel, coaching, and training costs reaching six figures.
“I will never talk s— about girls on OnlyFans ever again for the rest of my life,”
Vickery told fans during an Instagram Q&A.
“Because the amount I made on there in my first two days, I am overwhelmed. I am just shook really.”
Her representative later clarified that her content doesn’t include nudity or sex acts, but is instead suggestive. The rep also stressed that her decision to launch the page was made during an injury break — not as a replacement for her tennis career.
Vickery turned pro in 2011 and earned over $2.1 million during her 14-year career. She’s had big wins against top-ranked players, including Garbiñe Muguruza and Agnieszka Radwańska, and reached the semifinals at the 2018 Auckland Open and 2018 Monterrey Open.
Though her world ranking has dropped to No. 559, she still competes. Vickery recently advanced to the second round of the US Open qualifiers before falling to Germany’s Ella Seidel. She’s next expected to play at the Guadalajara Open in Mexico.
She says her new venture is part of a broader effort to “push boundaries” both inside and outside of sports.
“I’ve always been outspoken about racial hate I get online, body-shaming,” she told the Black Spin Global podcast in June. “I’m very open about a lot of stuff. My career is still going, but I also want to do things outside of tennis. I’m starting to explore more opportunities on social media.”
Despite the scrutiny her off-court choices have attracted, Vickery insists she’s unapologetic.
“I don’t care what people think of me,” she said. “If I have another avenue where I’m able to make a lot of money to support [tennis]… I don’t see anything negative with it.”
In her dating life, she’s clarifying that she’s not backing down from her new standards.
Despite the attention off the court, Vickery insists tennis remains her top priority. She opened her U.S. Open qualifying campaign with a victory over Anastasiya Soboleva on Tuesday, setting up a second-round clash with Germany’s No. 21 seed Ella Seidel on Thursday.
“Being a tennis player definitely helped my marketing,” Vickery said of her growing profile. “I’m at a stage where I don’t do the absolute most on [OnlyFans], but I’m comfortable as I need to be. I’m doing really well.”
