Coronavirus Compounds Financial Concerns in Women’s Sports

It didn’t matter whether she needed to wear a thick winter jacket or if her face felt numb in the cold. She wanted to play golf as a pro, just as her mother, Sharon, had. So she practiced enough and became good enough to play at the University of Georgia, where she was a three-time all-American.

To earn her L.P.G.A. Tour card last year, Hollis grinded out the season to finish in the top 10 on the Symetra Tour, the L.P.G.A.’s developmental tour. Along the way, she split the costs of a rental car and a hotel room with another player, or stayed with host families. All the practice and sacrifice and pounds of shoveled snow, over all those years, helped her get to this season, which has been sweeter — and shorter — than she had ever imagined.

Hollis played in three tournaments in Australia, earning two paychecks that totaled $21,796, and also found time to go sightseeing. She saw a show at the Sydney Opera House, hiked through Bondi Beach and snorkeled near sharks. But her whirlwind adventure is on pause.

While she was in Australia, events in China, Singapore and Thailand were canceled, so Hollis will have to wait to visit those countries for the first time. Then trips to California and Arizona, for three more events, were deleted from her schedule, too. She is now biding her time in a hotel near the University of Georgia. She said she feels lucky to have two sponsors because her tour paychecks have been put on hold.

“My initial reaction was mixed emotions,” Hollis said. “I’m sad that I can’t go out West, but I feel safer not putting myself and others at risk. I would hate to get the virus and give it to my grandma. This situation is serious. All I have to worry about is my career.”

In her Dallas hotel, Harrison, 26, is worrying about the health of her parents, who are in their 60s. Her mother works at a retirement community, and Harrison has asked her to stay home. Harrison, who grew up in a family of 12 children, won’t visit relatives or friends until her quarantine ends, a date that feels unimaginably far off.

She spends time reading the news, watching TV, making and posting videos about skin care or organizing her modeling portfolio. She is looking forward to the W.N.B.A. season, which is scheduled to start May 15 under a new collective bargaining agreement that boosts her salary. That is, if there is a season.