Marcus Daniell has an impressive tennis CV, but his work away from the court could have a bigger impact. Photo / Getty
Marcus Daniell has an impressive tennis CV, but his work away from the court could have a bigger impact. Photo / Getty
Kiwi tennis player Marcus Daniell has managed some impressive achievements in his career, but his work away from the court could leave a much greater legacy, reports Michael Burgess.
When Marcus Daniell starts listing the numbers, you can almost hear the excitement in his voice.
Daniell, who will take thecourt in the first round of the Australian Open doubles tournament on Wednesday, has already managed some noteworthy achievements in his sporting career.
He's won five ATP doubles titles, reaching another 10 finals. The doubles specialist has reached the last eight at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, as well as Indian Wells, known as the fifth major.
The 32-year-old also claimed Olympic bronze in Tokyo last year, teaming up with Michael Venus.
It's an impressive CV, but his work away from the court could have a bigger impact.
In November 2020, Daniell founded High Impact Athletes, a charitable organisation that encourages sportspeople to pledge a percentage of their annual earnings to the world's most effective charities.
Daniell had been passionate about altruism since 2015 but realised he could only do so much as an individual and decided that starting a network was key.
Plenty of notable tennis players have signed up, including world No 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas and former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic. He's also got boxer Joseph Parker on board, along with Olympic silver medallist kayaker Luuka Jones, among many other Kiwis.
"It's really growing quickly," Daniell tells the Herald. "There are some exciting names in the pipeline. This is something that athletes want, a trustworthy source of information for where to do good."
Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus after winning the men's doubles bronze at the Tokyo Olympics last year. Photo / Photosport
Last year, HIA influenced more than US$300,000 in donations, with some staggering impacts.
"We have improved more than 130,000 human lives - and I mean life-changing improvements like preventing malaria, removing parasitic worms and preventing blindness," says Daniell.
"We have improved more than one-and-a-half million animal lives and removed more than 190,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from the atmosphere.
"Some of those numbers are almost too big to fathom. But every one of those 130,000 people was someone living in terrible poverty who now has a much better shot at having a good life. It's pretty incredible the good that can be done with a movement like this."
Tsitsipas is a massive name, having reached the last four in Melbourne twice, along with the 2018 French Open final, but his recruitment was typical of Daniell's low key but effective approach.
"I just basically asked him," says Daniell. "He's always been a pretty approachable guy. I am respectful, especially as the more famous an athlete gets, the more they have to protect their space.
"So I just basically said, 'hey, I've started this. I'd love to chat to you about the philosophies that underpin it, but no pressure at all'."
After a couple of phone calls, the Greek was on board.
Daniell got to know Parker through some gym sessions together in Auckland – "It was ridiculous, Joe is just massive" – and later reached out to the heavyweight on social media.
"I said, 'look, I know you're busy, but I'd love to have a quick chat about this'," says Daniell. "He was all over it."
Marcus Daniell is changing lives through his innovative charity organisation High Impact Athletes. Photo / Photosport
Daniell has committed 10 per cent of his lifetime earnings, while the average pledge among HIA athletes is 2.5 per cent. He hopes to attract US$1 million in donations this year and has grand long term visions.
"This could be shooting a little too high but I want it to become a norm in the pro sport space," says Daniell. "That giving a percentage of your income to highly effective charities is the norm. So a kid looking up to their hero is like, 'I want to play basketball like that guy and live my life like that guy'. It could create this really cool, self-reinforcing loop."
On Wednesday Daniell will be alongside former Wimbledon doubles champion Freddy Nielsen, up against fellow Kiwi Artem Sitak and Russian Aslan Karatsev.
After the Australian Open, Daniell will continue his search for a new permanent partner, after Austrian Philip Oswald ended their two-year association last July.
"It's not an easy process," says Daniell. "It's always a little grainy - trying to figure out who you might want to play with should a partnership fail and who you could play well with. It's something I've never enjoyed."
However, Daniell is also looking forward to some time out on home soil after being away from New Zealand for 20 months. He has an MIQ spot booked for late January, before some family time in the Wairarapa, as well as a stint at his house on Auckland's west coast.
"The tour is hard enough as it is … it's exhausting," says Daniell. "And then when you can't go home, can't see family and can't recharge your batteries, it just keeps grinding you down. I'm just going to focus on rejuvenating."
