Why more tennis stars could turn to OnlyFans...as Arina Rodionova posts first messages on adult-only site since announcing split from athlete husband

It is not unknown for Arina Rodionova to flirt with alternative career options. Never slow to speak out when occasion demands, the Australian tennis player memorably declared herself to be 'embarrassed' by her profession when some of her peers baulked at the prospect of a fortnight's Covid quarantine before the 2021 Australian Open. 'If anyone asks, I am a full-time gardener and a cleaner on the weekends,' she quipped on social media.

Rodionova resisted the temptation to swap her racket for a rake and a mop on that occasion but, four years on, the world No 183 appears to have discovered an equally unlikely new  calling - as an Only Fans creator. Following her defeat to Germany's Eva Lys in the second round of the Australian Open qualifying competition last month, Rodionova revealed that she was launching a page on the adult-only online subscription platform.

'Good news for everyone who was asking,' said the 35-year-old. 'My OnlyFans account was confirmed, so here we go. Let's do this.'. As the tennis world averted its gaze, the profile of a player who last made headlines a year ago, when she became the oldest woman in WTA rankings history to break the top 100 for the first time, soared to a degree rarely enjoyed by players outside the upper echelons of the game.

Yet Rodionova, who was born in the Russian region of Tambov, about 300 miles south-east of Moscow, and acquired Australian citizenship in January 2014, was not done. Arina Rodionova, a Russia-born Australian tennis player ranked 183 in the world, has joined adults-only subscription platform OnlyFans. Rodionova, 35, right and her husband Ty Vickery, 34, announced their divorce in an Instagram video last week, following nine years of marriage.

Speaking to her 25,000 social media followers, Rodionova said: 'Friends and family know but we just wanted to let the wider community know about this situation'. Barely had her followers digested news of her latest venture before she dropped a second bombshell, announcing that her marriage to Ty Vickery, the former Australian rules footballer with whom she tied the knot in December 2015, was at an end.

If nothing else, Rodionova's revelation that the couple have been separated for 'about a year' cast some of her more recent social media posts in a fresh light. Last November, the 35-year-old enjoyed an off-season trip to the Maldives, where her travel companions included Daria Kasatkina, the Russian world No 11, and her partner Natalia Zabiiako, a professional figure skater. In one video montage, Rodionova was variously shown running along the beach in a bikini, twerking by a pool, and discarding her top before diving into the sea.

Looking ahead to her new side gig, Rodionova promised to 'start posting my bikini pictures from the Maldives.. on my OnlyFans account, of course'. Rodionova is far from unique among professional athletes - or tennis players - in adopting a presence on OnlyFans. Ashley Harkelroad, a former world No 39, briefly joined the site in 2022, while another American, 195th-ranked Sachia Vickery, signed up earlier this month.

Among the men, former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has a free-to-access OnlyFans page, created just over a year ago as a new way to 'show up online' and interact with his followers, while Alexandre Muller, a 27-year-old Frenchman ranked 57 in the world, also shares content on the site. Other high-profile athletes who use the platform include Olympians such as Jack Laugher, Britain's first ever gold-medal winning diver, and Alysha Newman, the Canadian pole vaulter. Former UFC star Paige VanZant has her own account, as does the footballer Madelene Wright.

Rodionova's decision to join OnlyFans has seen the world No 183's profile soar to a degree rarely enjoyed by players outside the upper echelons of the game. In the weeks preceding her divorce announcement, Rodionova posted a number of pictures from her off-season holiday to the Maldives with Daria Kasatkina and Natalia Zabiiako. While Rodionova has yet to reveal her exact reasons for joining the site, most sportspeople are motivated by the opportunity to supplement their income. That they should need to do so is, says Mark Borkowski, the crisis PR consultant and author, an indictment of the way many sports are run - and 'smart business' on the part of the athletes concerned.

'Arina Rodionova jumping on the OnlyFans bandwagon is just another sign of the times - a stark reminder that professional sport, for all its glitz, still doesn’t offer a viable financial model for many athletes,' said Borkowski. 'Let’s be real: tennis is a punishing career path unless you’re cracking the top tier, and the sponsorship money isn’t exactly pouring in for those grinding away on the fringes.