Oliver Tarvet: Who is Wimbledon's 'lowest ranked player'? British tennis star to face reigning champ Carlos Alcaraz
Wimbledon 2025 has been full of shocks already with huge names dropping out in the first round, and the unlikely story of a British college student is another one of those shocks.
Oliver Tarvet surprised tennis fans by progressing through to his first ever Grand Slam tournament last week and stamped his mark on the competition by going one better and beating his first round rival Leandro Riedi in straight sets. Oliver is the officially the lowest-ranked player in the tournament.
Now, he faces what is undoubtedly the biggest match of his career so far as he plays reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court in a second round showdown set to take place on Wednesday afternoon (July 2). Alcaraz is defending his title from 2024, but the Spaniard faced a tricky five-set thriller against Fabio Fognini in the first round to kick off his campaign.
As he takes on a giant of world tennis, here’s everything you need to know about Oliver Tarvet.
Who is Oliver Tarvet?
Oliver Tarvet is a 21-year-old from St Albans who makes his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon this year. The sport star currently lives in the US, studying at the University of San Diego and has not yet made the leap to a full-time professional player.
He made history as the first Brit in the past eight years to advance to the Wimbledon championship via the qualifying rounds. In fact, his triumph in qualifying means that Oliver is now the lowest-ranked player at the tournament - he is currently ranked 733 in the world. He reached a career high rank of 624 in September 2024.
How much money has Oliver Tarvet won?
After Oliver defeated Alexander Blockx during last week’s qualifying round and swept Riedi aside during the first round match in straight sets, the young Brit should have been in line for a prize pot of £159,000. However, a little-known rule has actually prevented Oliver from claiming most of that.
As he has not gone pro and is part of the collegiate system, Oliver is only entitled to $10,000 (£7,300) of his winnings so far. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules currently state: "In tennis, prior to full-time collegiate enrollment, an individual may accept up to $10,000 per calendar year in prize money based on his or her place finish or performance in open athletics events [events that are not invitation only].
"Once the individual has reached the $10,000 limit in a particular year, he or she may receive additional prize money on a per-event basis, provided such prize money does not exceed the individual's actual and necessary expenses for participation in the event."
Speaking following his qualifying success, Oliver said: "I know there have been complaints about it but I don't want to speak too much about it and overstep the mark. But in my opinion, I've worked hard to get this money. I don't feel like it's undeserved the money that I've got.
"I think it would be good to see a change in the rules of the NCAA, but at the same time, I don't want to get involved. It's not really my place. But I've done well this week. I think I deserve this money."
The situation is similar to that of Australian player Maya Joint, who was forced to forfeit more than $200,000 (£145,000) after reaching the fourth round of the US Open last year. US college player Reese Brantmeier, 20, launched a class action lawsuit against the NCAA to get the rule changed, which Maya joined as a co-plaintiff.
Who is Oliver Tarvet playing at Wimbledon?
The biggest match of Oliver’s career is scheduled to begin at around 2.40pm on Wednesday, July 2, although this time may shift depending on the rest of the schedule. He faces Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of Wimbledon 2025.