Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer to be highest-paid tennis player of all time

Roger Federer may be the most recognisable face in the men's game - but he falls short in overall earnings

Evan Bartlett
Thursday 07 September 2017 15:09 BST
Comments
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have won 31 grand slam titles between them
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have won 31 grand slam titles between them (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Roger Federer may well be the greatest men’s tennis player of all time, but he surprisingly does not lead the list of highest earners.

Novak Djokovic, the 12-time grand slam champion, may have fewer titles than his Swiss rival but his dominance over the past half-decade or so, just as prize money has increased sees him top the list of all-time earners.

The Serb has claimed $109.8m (£83m) in on-court earnings, compared to Federer in second ($107.8) and Rafael Nadal in third ($86.2m), according to figures revealed by Business Insider.

Highlighting the disparity between male and female tennis players is Serena Williams, who has won 23 grand slam titles (compared to Federer’s 19), in fourth place with $84.4m.

Her sister Venus is the second-highest earning women’s player with $37.9m while Maria Sharapova is third on $36.5m

Britain’s Andy Murray is fifth on the overall list, having earned $60.8m through his three grand slams and 45 other titles.

Whoever wins the US Open this weekend will have a good chance to move up the list.

The tournament in New York is set to hand out the highest total of prize money in the history of tennis – with the winners of the singles events picking up $3.7m each from the $50.4m prize pot.

View the 20 top earning tennis players of all time in the list below:

  1. Novak Djokovic - $109.8m
  2. Roger Federer - $107.7m
  3. Rafael Nadal - $86.2m
  4. Serena Williams - $84.4m
  5. Andy Murray - $60.8m
  6. Pete Sampras - $43.2m
  7. Venus Williams - $37.9m
  8. Maria Sharapova - $36.5m
  9. Andre Agassi - $31.1m
  10. David Ferrer - $30.6m
  11. Stan Wawrinka - $30.6m
  12. Victoria Azarenka - $28.4m
  13. Tomas Berdych - $28m
  14. Agnieszka Radwańska - $26.6m
  15. Boris Becker - $25m
  16. Kim Clijsters - $24.4m
  17. Caroline Wozniacki - $24.2m
  18. Martina Hingis - $23.9m
  19. Yevgeny Kafelnikov - $23.8m
  20. Svetlana Kuznetsova - $23.8m

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in