One competitor at this year’s US Open appears to have taken the concept of a side hustle to the next level. Meet Sachia Vickery, the American tennis player ranked 559th in the world, who is currently vying for a spot in the US Open main draw.
She began her campaign in New York with a straight-sets win against Anastasiya Soboleva in qualifying earlier this week, but away from the court, Vickery has already been raking in the cash. The athlete instead turned to OnlyFans earlier this year and sells steamy photographs of her body to paying subscribers.
A monthly subscription will set an individual back just under £10 per month, with Vickery claiming her customers gain access to content deemed “too spicy for Instagram”. Among the extras teased on her site are clips of her “longest shower vid yet”, as well as provocative posts captioned: “let’s get spicy tonight”.
But, Vickery’s money-making exploits don’t end there, with the 30-year-old also said to charge prospective lovers a deposit to go on a date with her. Vickery, who has banked £1.5million in prize money from tennis, claims she “no longer dates for free”.
During an Instagram Q&A session, she explained: “I no longer date for free due to the behaviour of men I now require a pre-date deposit send me 1,000 [dollars] and we can make it happen.”
A bold strategy, but one Vickery is happy to defend. Speaking to the Black Spin Global podcast, the US Open hopeful explained how she’s always broken from convention when it comes to career opportunities. She explained: “I’ve always pushed boundaries.
“I’ve always been outspoken about racial hate I get online, bodyshaming. I’m very open about a lot of stuff. I’m still playing tennis, 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.
“I set it up [OnlyFans] in January and it just took off. Being a tennis player definitely helped my marketing. I’m at a stage where I don’t do the absolute most on there but I’m comfortable as I need to be. I’m doing really well. Obviously, I’m going to get some negative feedback but that’s just normal. Whatever you do in life there’s always going to be some criticism. If I was doing nothing I’d be getting criticism, so I might as well get on the platform and make money while I’m at it.”
