Tennis is a novel sport on this planet {of professional} athletics. Not like workforce sports activities, the place athletes signal huge assured contracts, tennis gamers earn their cash one match at a time. Prize cash is performance-based. Endorsements can dwarf on-court earnings, however in relation to pure prize cash, tennis tells a really clear story of longevity, dominance, and consistency.
For many years, males dominated the tennis earnings panorama, thanks partially to bigger purses in males’s occasions and longer careers on the high. However in recent times, the ladies’s sport has surged, producing international superstars who’ve earned lots of of tens of millions each on and off the court docket. The prize cash hole has closed dramatically because the early 2000s, particularly at Grand Slam occasions the place women and men now compete for equal pay.
Nonetheless, solely a handful of gamers in historical past have managed to show their careers into nine-figure prize cash totals. Under is a definitive take a look at the best profession on-court earnings in tennis historical past, damaged down by women and men. Observe that these figures don’t embrace endorsements, look charges, or licensing offers, which regularly far exceed what high gamers earn from enjoying alone.
Highest Profession Earnings in Males’s Tennis Historical past
- Novak Djokovic – $187,871,269
- Rafael Nadal – $134,946,100
- Roger Federer – $130,594,339
- Andy Murray – $64,687,542
- Carlos Alcaraz – $53,486,628
- Alexander Zverev – $52,935,482
- Jannik Sinner – $48,779,987
- Daniil Medvedev – $46,277,151
- Pete Sampras – $43,280,489
- Stan Wawrinka – $37,511,717
Highest Profession Earnings in Ladies’s Tennis Historical past
- Serena Williams – $94,816,730
- Venus Williams – $42,648,578
- Aryna Sabalenka – $42,300,521
- Simona Halep – $40,236,618
- Iga Świątek – $39,625,419
- Maria Sharapova – $38,777,962
- Victoria Azarenka – $38,396,707
- Petra Kvitová – $37,359,508
- Caroline Wozniacki – $36,441,868
- Angelique Kerber – $32,519,180
(Photograph by Thomas Lovelock – AELTC Pool/Getty Photographs)
The Endorsement Hole
If endorsements had been included, the rankings would shift dramatically. Roger Federer, for instance, retired with simply over $130 million in prize cash, however his whole profession earnings are estimated to exceed $1 billion due to offers with Uniqlo, Rolex, Wilson, Mercedes-Benz, and others. Serena Williams equally earned lots of of tens of millions from endorsements, investments, and enterprise ventures. Maria Sharapova, even throughout a suspension, remained one of many highest-paid feminine athletes on this planet.
Nonetheless, prize cash stays a pure barometer of dominance over time. And in that division, Djokovic stands alone. He has earned extra on the court docket than any tennis participant in historical past, male or feminine, and continues to widen the hole. Serena Williams leads the ladies’s subject by a large margin, having greater than doubled the next-closest earner in prize cash.
Breaking the $100 Million Barrier
Novak Djokovic made historical past in 2016 when he turned the first tennis player to surpass $100 million in career prize money. He crossed the edge after successful the French Open, a title that additionally accomplished his profession Grand Slam. On the time, Djokovic overtook Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in whole earnings and has remained forward ever since. His sustained dominance and deep match runs have made him the highest-earning participant in tennis historical past by a substantial margin.
Breaking the $200 Million Barrier
As I sort this text, Novak is in the course of a semi-final match in opposition to Jannik Sinner on the French Open. Heading into this match, Djokovic has earned roughly $187.1 million in profession prize cash. If he retires on the finish of the 12 months, he would wish to earn about $12.9 million extra to cross the $200 million threshold. That determine continues to be inside attain, due to a number of main tournaments left on the calendar. Here is how the numbers break down:
- French Open: $2.9 million
- Wimbledon: $3.4 million
- US Open: $3.6 million
- ATP Finals (undefeated champion): $4.88 million
If Djokovic had been to win all 4 of those tournaments, he would gather roughly $14.78 million, pushing his whole profession earnings to round $201.86 million. He would solely must win three of the 4—such because the French Open, Wimbledon, and ATP Finals—to achieve the $200 million milestone. Even two main wins and a powerful ATP Finals run may get him there.
Whether or not or not he does it, Djokovic has already set a normal for on-court earnings which will take years, if not many years, for anybody else to match.
The Richest Tennis Participant Of All Time
I would not blame you if you happen to assumed the richest tennis participant of all time was Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer. In actuality, the richest tennis participant of all time is somebody I bet most readers have never heard of: Ion Țiriac.
The Romanian former participant earned only some million {dollars} throughout his skilled profession within the Nineteen Sixties and 70s, however after retiring, he constructed a post-communist enterprise empire that features banks, insurance coverage, airways, auto dealerships, and an enormous actual property portfolio.
In 1990, Țiriac based Banca Țiriac, the primary non-public financial institution in post-Soviet Romania, and later launched the Madrid Open, which he nonetheless owns and operates. He additionally holds a forty five% stake in what’s now UniCredit Țiriac Financial institution, certainly one of Romania’s largest monetary establishments. Over the many years, he has added luxurious automotive collections, non-public aviation, industrial improvement, and hospitality to his empire.
Immediately, Țiriac’s net worth is estimated at $2.4 billion, making him not solely the wealthiest tennis participant of all time, but additionally the second richest athlete on this planet behind Michael Jordan. Not dangerous for a man who by no means gained a Grand Slam.
