There are many sports that pay the biggest stars huge amounts of money for essentially playing a game they love. There are some crazy salaries in US sports, particularly basketball, where top NBA stars earn over $50m a year. In boxing, if we can call this particular bout that, Floyd Mayweather took home a reported $280m for his fight against Conor McGregor. And of course, we have Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest insane deal with Saudi side Al-Nassr that is worth almost £500m – at least – over two years. That includes a basic pay of £488k per day, excluding various extra clauses and bonuses.
If that seems obscene, it should be noted that various bankers and hedge fund managers have salaries (including bonuses) far in excess of that, whilst Elon Musk was recently granted $29bn worth of shares in Tesla. That must make even CR7 feel a pang of envy. Compared to these astronomical sums, the prize money on offer to tennis stars may seem a little underwhelming. However, clearly, the best players in the world are incredibly well remunerated. In fact, anyone approaching the top 100 in the world can expect to earn an annual “salary” of several hundred thousand pounds.
US Open Set to Have Biggest Purse in Tennis History
The US Open’s overall player compensation hits a new all-time high for the tournament.
And for the 50th consecutive year, the prize money is equal between men and women.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 8, 2023
The US Open recently announced its prize money for the 2025 tournament. The final major of the tennis year begins on the 24th of August (though qualifying commences on the 18th). The final of the men’s tournament is scheduled to take place on the 7th of September, and whoever lifts the trophy will also claim a very tidy $5m.
The women’s final takes place a day earlier on the 6th of September, and the champion of that contest will also land a cool $5m. In total, there is $90m being paid to the various players and that is the biggest purse the game has ever seen. Stick three or four zeros on these numbers and Musk might even consider picking up a racket – and we wouldn’t put anything past the “eccentric” mega-billionaire.
In tennis terms, these numbers are huge, with the $5m winner’s prize representing a 39% uplift from the 2024 figure. If only we could negotiate a 39% payrise with the gaffer! Even making the first round (and losing) is worth $110,000 in 2025, giving all the qualifiers battling to get there plenty in the way of an incentive. Before you rush to cancel your children’s piano and dance lessons and get them booked in with the local tennis coach, let’s take a look at some more general figures when it comes to tennis.
ATP Career Prize Money
Looking solely at winnings on the court, on the ATP Tour, we can see that the game’s best do not need to worry about turning the heating on if it gets chilly in September. These guys can Supersize their McDonald’s even when they aren’t hungry, buy their favourite trainers in all available colours and still have a bit of change to buy the odd yacht.
Looking at total career prize money, it is unsurprisingly Novak Djokovic who leads the way. The Serb has won more majors than any other man and is still playing now, at a time when there is more money in tennis than ever. The Serb currently has around $189m to his name, which leaves him well clear of Rafa Nadal in second. The Spaniard won around $135m during his wonderful career, whilst it will be of little surprise that Roger Federer is third on more than $130m.
That Andy Murray is next – for now at least – shows just how good the Scot really was. That said, the fact he “only” won about $65m, around half as much as Federer, is also a good and fair illustration of the gap that existed between him and the Big Three. Number five on the list is harder to take a guess at, but to save you the trouble, it is Alexander Zverev. He’s won no Grand Slam titles, but at least he has banked almost $54m in prize money during his career – so far.
Next comes a man who may well have what it takes to overtake Djokovic – in monetary terms, if not Slams. Thus far, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz boasts five Grand Slams and over $47m in tournament winnings. Daniil Medvedev is next with almost $47m, whilst another contender to surpass Djokovic is number eight on the list.
World number one Jannik Sinner now boasts four majors and has won almost $46m, which might or might not rather peeve the man next on the list. Poor Pistol Pete Sampras only garnered $43m, despite claiming 14 of the game’s biggest tournaments. Rounding out the top 10 is Stan Wawrinka, with not far shy of $38m.
And The Women?
While women receive equal pay at the Grand Slams, this is not the case in lots of other tournaments. Moreover, although the US Open granted women the same prizes as men way back in 1973, the other three big ones dragged their heels. The Australian Open was next in 2001, with the French and Wimbledon following in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
This goes a good way to explaining why the Williams sisters top the career WTA career prize money leaderboard with a paltry $95m (Serena) and $43m (Venus). That said, the impact of more events offering equal prizes for women can be seen in the fact that third on the list is Polish ace Iga Swiatek. She has won over $40m, and that will rise rapidly in the years to come – especially if she can win the US Open to go with her 2025 Wimbledon title, for which she won £3m (around $4m).
Off-Court Earnings Can Be Worth Even More
In addition to the prize money they win for playing well, tennis players, like most sports stars (but not like Musk or bankers), can earn huge sums through sponsorship deals and being brand ambassadors. Traditionally, this has been a particularly lucrative area for women and, as an example, Emma Raducanu is thought to have earned around $5.5m on the court during her career. However, various sources, such as Forbes and an analysis of her registered company, suggest off-court earnings may be around three times that per year since she won the US Open.
Going back a little further, Maria Sharapova was the highest-earning female sports star for 11 years from 2005 onwards. Fine player though she was, in several of those years, the split of her income streams was around 90% off-court and just 10% on it.