Tennis Riches
The Top 10 Tennis Earners of All Time
Making it big in tennis is no easy feat, however once you make it to the top there is a lot of money up for grabs. The prize money at tournaments is constantly on the rise owing to continuous increase in the cost of living. To give you some perspective, The Australian Open 2002 total prize money pool was 16.5 million AUD, whereas the Australian Open 2020 total prize money pool was 71 million AUD. Although, bear in mind that tennis players do have a lot of expenses in terms of travel costs, coaches, family member travel costs and at times accommodation costs as well which justifies the huge sum of money they receive when they win a tournament or even make it to the final rounds. To add to this, the number of sacrifices that tennis players make and the hard work that has been put in to reach the top makes them deserving of every single penny that they pocket.
Endorsements is another reason why players at the absolute top earn a ridiculous amount of money. Almost every top 5 men’s and women’s tennis players earn more money through endorsement contracts than prize money. However, such lucrative endorsement deals are only there for the absolute top players. Putting endorsement deals aside, let’s see the top ten tennis earners of all time in terms of prize money.
#10 Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki was a household name in tennis during the late 2000s and 2010s and it is not surprise to see her here on this list. She is a former world number 1, Australian Open Grand Slam champion and netted a total of 26.6 Million Pounds in prize money throughout her career. She is likely to be dethroned of 10th place due to the ever-increasing prize money and the fact that she retired from professional tennis last year.
#9 Simona Halep
One of the powerhouses of women’s tennis since 2014, Simona Halep needs no introduction. She is a two-time grand slam champion and has numerous WTA titles through which she has earned most of her prize money. She has netted a total of 27.8 Million Pounds in prize money and considering she is not going to retire anytime soon; she is well on her way to earn a lot more and work her way higher up this list.
#8 Maria Sharapova
Russian Maria Sharapova earned her first big payday when she won the 2004 Wimbledon singles crown aged just 17. Ever since then she has won numerous WTA titles and is one of the most marketable female tennis players of all time. In terms of prize money, she netted a total of 30.4 Million Pounds in her career, which is a fraction of her actual income owing to huge endorsement deals and business ventures.
#7 Venus Williams
The longest serving tennis player on this list makes it to seventh place. Venus Williams made her debut back in 1997 and is still playing professional tennis 24 years later, thereby making it no surprise seeing her name on this list. She has won numerous Grand Slam and WTA titles during her decorated career and has earned a total of 31 Million Pounds in prize money, just about giving her the edge over Sharapova. She may just have a few tournaments left in her before she calls it quits for good.
#6 Pete Sampras
If you watched tennis in the 1990s, then there is a big chance that you saw this man, Pete Sampras, dominate at so many tournaments. He is the only player to feature on this list whose earnings primarily came in the 1990s which further highlights his achievements as a tennis player. He received a total of 32.7 Million Pounds in his illustrious career.
#5 Andy Murray
It’s no shock to see the Brit Andy Murray on this list. Prior to his hip injury, he was arguably the only player to give the big three any real competition in terms of winning Masters 1000 titles and Grand Slams. He has won a total of 46 titles in his career, which is a remarkable achievement owing to how competitive men’s tennis has been over the last 15 years or so. He has pocketed an enormous total of 46.4 Million Pounds in prize money so far and is not done just yet.
#4 Serena Williams
The highest female earner ever in tennis by a country mile is none other than Serena Williams. She is arguably the greatest ever women’s tennis player of all time and has won 23 Grand Slam Titles – just one shy of Margaret Court’s record of 24. She is still playing at the highest level and may end up levelling the number of titles with Margaret Court. She has earned a whopping 70 Million Pounds in her career in terms of prize money so far which is more than double of the second highest female earner!
#3 Rafael Nadal
The king of Clay, 20 grand slams titles and one of the most decorated tennis players of all time, Rafael Nadal comes in third place on this list. No surprise to see him on this list, owing to his ridiculous accomplishments throughout his career. He is by far the best ever player to step foot on a clay court and it his highly unlikely to see any other player ever come close to his achievements on that surface. He has netted a total of 92 Million Pounds in prize money and judging by how he has been going he looks all set to crack the 100 Million mark soon.
#2 Roger Federer
The most popular man to ever hold a tennis racquet, the one and only Swiss sensation Roger Federer comes in second place. This may be a huge surprise as many of you would have thought he would be the highest earner of all time, however he won most of his Grand Slam titles in the 2000s and early 2010s when the prize money was not as lucrative as it is now. Nevertheless, he has earned an astonishing 98 Million Pounds in prize money so far in his career and is not done yet!
#1 Novak Djokovic
It is no surprise to see Novak Djokovic on this list, however it may surprise a few that he is number one on this list. This is largely due to the fact that he has won most of his majors in the 2010s era along with numerous masters 1000 titles where the prize money pool is always on the rise. He has more than 80 titles to further add to his achievements. He has netted a total of 108 Million Pounds in prize money and considering he is still at the top of his game, it is honestly quite scary to see how much he may end up with when he retires!
