Difficulty To Go Pro
Ranking The Top Five Hardest Sports To Become A Professional In
T. G. George
THE ROAD TO THE TOP of any sport is obviously a strenuous grind. Everyone’s journey is different, with some facing more challenges than others, irrespective of sport. Yet, in this article I will attempt to categorise these paths to decipher the most difficult. I will look at three primary distinctions: the difficulty of the sport, the popularity of the sport, and the number of active professionals.
5. Golf
Golf is a game of patience and precision. While lacking physical difficulty, the hand-eye coordination and intricacy of technique is something unmatched by any other sport. In terms of competition, it is rife, with over 80 million golfers worldwide, an estimated 50,000 professionals, and yet only 175 making the P.G.A tour. The use of objective scoring further emphasises the superiority of professional golfers compared to amateurs. They’re shooting 10 under on the hardest courses in the world, while the average golfer can’t even break 100 at their local. Finally, the mental strength required of a golfer is an underestimated and differentiating quality, where every stroke is imperative to the success of the round, and “bad days” cannot be covered by teammates.
4. Swimming / Sprinting
Despite the different modes of movement, both sports involve similar arguments for difficulty. Both sports entail hours of repetition, as well as flawless technique and quick reaction times. Why I rank them both so highly is the level of competition – being just about everyone in the world. While some sports are incredibly niche, both sprinting and swimming are so broad. Additionally, they are heavily reliant on genetics and natural ability, providing further restrictions on one’s ability to become professional. Once this talent is identified, the intensity of training and specialisation is immense, as even the world’s fastest athletes such as Kylian Mbappe, Tyreek Hill, or Josh Addo-Carr, can’t compete with professional sprinters. Likewise, in golf, the scoring is objective, also emphasising the incredible distinction between professionals and amateurs.
3. Tennis
Tennis is the final individual sport on this list. With over eighty-seven million tennis players globally, only 3,873 are ranked professionals – evidently one of the most competitive sports. Furthermore, tennis combines both the patience and precision of sports such as golf, with intense explosiveness and unprecedented endurance. Matches often range from a minimum of 90 minutes, occasionally extending to multiple hours. The Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) system is also highly competitive and challenging to navigate, forcing players with professional aspirations to travel internationally to increase their rating.
2. Soccer
Football is easily the most popular sport in the world, with over 250 million players playing on a regular, organised basis, across two hundred countries. Over 3.5 billion people tuned in to watch the 2018 World Cup, epitomising the level of importance and prestige placed upon the sport, which translates to an intense level of global competition. However, with these high participation numbers, they do have the most professionals, with 123,694 worldwide. This rank at number two is still highly deserved, especially considering the difficulty. Players must run an average of ten kilometres per match, while maintaining a high level of skill and precision. Truly incredible.
1. Basketball
Basketball is a sport that tops every metric I have covered. The standard of skill is very high, and yet even if you have flawless handles and an accurate jump shot, you still might not make the cut. Usually, the most restrictive factor is height, as the average N.B.A. player is 6’6”. Additionally, there are arguably more worldwide players than football, with FIBA estimating 450 million people play the sport, and yet only 70,000 are professional players. Amongst these professionals, there are only 450 roster spots in the N.B.A., making basketball one of the most competitive sports, while also being very difficult to master.
