Over the last ten years, tennis players have seen a significant rise in prize money. Last year, the WTA Finals offered four million dollars in prize money to the winner of the singles competition, the highest amount ever paid out. Current world number one, Ashleigh Barty, won the tournament. As the ATP and WTA continue to offer better terms to their players, many have accumulated a fortune over their careers.
Top five male earners in tennis
According to business insiders, several players have earned over 20 million dollars in prize money in their careers. The magazine ranked the top five male and female earners in the sport. On the male side, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal topped the list. The three players have been dominant on the court, winning 56 Grand Slam titles among them. In their player rankings, the magazine considered the total prize money accumulated up to this year’s Australian Open. Djokovic led the list with a total of $143.1 million dollars earned over his illustrious career. The Serbian has eight victories at the Australian Open, five at Wimbledon, three at the US Open and one Roland Garros. Federer was second on the list and has amassed around $129.9 million dollars. Nadal was a close third with $120.6 million dollars while Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka make up the top five with $61 million and $34 million dollars earned respectively.
Top five female earners
On the women’s side, Serena Williams led the pack with a total of $92.7 million netted in her dominant career. Serena also topped the list for top female earners in 2018. The Royal Vegas Casino reported that the 23-time Grand Slam champion made over $18 million dollars from endorsements alone during the 2018 season. Other notable female earners include Maria Sharapova who had earned close to $38.8 million dollars before her surprise retirement earlier this year. Another recently retired player, Caroline Wozniacki, collected $35.8 million dollars during her playing days. Completing the top five list of female earners are Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova.
However, despite the increase in revenue to the players and the tennis bodies over the past few years, 2020 could see a reduction in earnings for both parties. The coronavirus has affected many sports around the world, and tennis has been among the worst hit. The Indian Wells and the Miami Open tournaments scheduled for March in the United States were canceled due to the virus. The ATP recently announced a six-week suspension of the tour while the WTA has postponed all tennis tournaments until May 2nd.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2020
Ranked world no.1, the Serbian played his last match on the 29th of February when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 in the final in Dubai to win his 80th career title.
Presently, this year the Serbian has a 18-0 win-loss record. Djokovic clinched 2 titles in 2020 at the Australian Open and in Dubai.
Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2020
Currently the world no.4, the Swiss played his last match on the 30th of January when he lost to Novak Djokovic 7-61 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal of the Australian Open.
Roger Federer’s best result of the present year was reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer played each other 50 times. The head to head is 27-23 for Djokovic. The last time that they played, Novak Djokovic won 7-61 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal in Melbourne (Australian Open) on the 30th of January 2020.
In video as below you can watch the highlights.
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer |
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