23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams hasn’t won a WTA title since 2017, but remains one of the highest paid athletes in the world of sport.
The 37-year-old is the only female athlete to make it into this year’s top 100. The list by Forbes magazine analyses the winnings and endorsements of athletes. They are combined together to give a total amount. For Williams, she has made $4.2M in prize money and a further $25M in endorsements. Placing her in 63rd place on the list.
Williams is already the highest earning female tennis player of all-time. So far in her career, she has made $88,856,834. More than double that of her sister Venus, who is second on the all-time list with $41.4M. Only three men on the ATP Tour have made more than her in the history of the sport.
Besides her earnings, the former world No.1 has an impressive business portfolio. Investing in 34 startups over the past five years, which amounts to an estimated $10M. 60% of those investments have gone into companies run by either minorities or women.
Elsewhere in the list, Roger Federer is the only tennis player to make it into the top 10. In fifth place, the Swiss player has made a staggering $86M in endorsements. The highest amount in the top 100 by $32M. Golfer Tiger Woods is second with $54M. On top of that, Federer has also accumulated $7.4M in earnings. Bringing his total amount to $93.4M.
Some of Federer’s endorsements
-Credit Suisse
-Mercedes-Benz
-Rolex
-Uniqlo – 10-year contract worth an estimated $300M.
World No.1 Novak Djokovic is in 17th place with $50.6M. Out of the five tennis players to make it into the top 100, he is the only one to earn more than $10M in prize money with a total amount of $20.6M. Plus $30M in off-court activities. In his entire career, Djokovic has won more prize money ($131,701,850) than anybody else in the history of the sport.
Kei Nishikori is placed two spots ahead of 12-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. This is because of the amount of endorsement deals he has. Especially in Japan. Some of those companies include Asahi, NTT, Japan Airlines, Lixil, Procter and Gamble and Nissin. Forbes notes that all of those companies are official partners of the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Nishikori’s total pay is $37.7M, but 88.5% of that amount is via endorsements ($33M).
Finally, king of clay Nadal has combined earnings of $35M. His sponsors include Babolat, Tommy Hilfiger, KIA Motors, Nike and Telefónica. Forbes also claims that the Spaniard can attract an appearance fee of more than $1M.
Barcelona F.C. player Lionel Messi tops the list with $127M.
The five highest earning tennis players
| RANK | NAME | PAY | SALARY/WINNINGS | ENDORSEMENTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #63 | Serena Williams | $29.2 M | $4.2 M | $25 M | ||
| #37 | Rafael Nadal | $35 M | $9 M | $26 M | ||
| #35 | Kei Nishikori | $37.3 M | $4.3 M | $33 M | ||
| #17 | Novak Djokovic | $50.6 M | $20.6 M | $30 M | ||
| #5 | Roger Federer | $93.4 M | $7.4 M | $86 M |
source: forbes.com
