STARNBERG, April 26, 2022 (Guest Post)
You know you are at the top of your game when you get highly paid without playing. Athletes work hard on the court, and their brand works even harder off of it. This means tennis stars have more than their game money to count on. Brand endorsements, investments, and apparel deals are some of the sources of the tennis players’ income. Because of the nature of their jobs and how they earn their prize money, these superstars are careful about the information that gets out. It happens because bad press could cause a big name to withdraw its financial muscle.
Here is what your favorite tennis players won and earned in the tennis world.
Roger Federer
Roger Federer may no longer be the top-ranked tennis player, but that doesn’t stop him from being one of the highest paid tennis players. This Swiss-South African player leads in endorsements, having made deals with the companies Nike. He also signed contracts with UNIQLO, Credit Suisse, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, and Wilson.
Now, guess who canceled the contract with the shoe giant – one of the biggest retail brands known to man? Roger Federer, the GOAT, that’s who. When his first deal with the shoe company which was worth US$120 million ended in 2018, he didn’t renew it. He got an even better deal with UNIQLO for US$300 million. Federer’s on-court earnings fade compared to what he makes from his brand integrations. He earned a little over US$130 million while working on getting his 20 Grand Slam titles. The 40-year is expected to keep earning from his name which will remain valuable even after he retires from the game.
Novak Djokovic
The Association of Tennis Professionals ranks him as number one among the highest-paid tennis players in the world. We can all agree that Novak Djokovic is a joy to watch on the court. The 34-year-old Serbian who speaks five languages has 20 Grand Slam titles next to his name, and he is making bank off-court, too. His assets are currently estimated to be worth US$220m. His endorsements come from Lacoste, Head, NetJets, Seiko Watch Corporation, ASICS, and Peugeot. Also, he keeps getting some good dough from his games.
Career-wise, Novak has earned over US$153 million while his personal brand made the rest to get him over the US$200 million mark. His adoring 9.9 million followers on Instagram make his brand one of the most wanted publicity entities to work with. These opportunities seem to have weathered the controversy with his vaccination status. We can only hope to see him on the court soon.
Rafael Nadal
The king of clay makes a good bank, too, if his public profile is anything to go by. He makes around US$26 million from collaborations with Kia Motors, Lanvin, Quely, Richard Mille, Emporio Armani, PokerStars, Babolat, and Tommy Hilfiger. He also gambles, especially he enjoys poker. There is not enough information about the winnings he may have made at the casino, but we believe that they may increase his assets. Similarly, you can try this only by making the Casino Kingdom $1 deposit. This will allow you to try to achieve significant success with minimal risk and a minimum deposit.
Nadal’s career wins aren’t bad either, as he makes US$124 million on the court, with 21 major titles to show for his skills. The Spaniard is currently 35, so he still has some time to win more trophies and move up the ladder.
Rafael’s achievements make him one of the greatest athletes in men’s singles. He holds the record for winning the most titles in one tournament – French Open – 13. His 81 consecutive wins on clay gave him his label. For quite a while now, he has been in rivalry in men’s singles with two of the best in the sport – Fededer and Djokovic. We hope this rivalry continues as such situations spice things up.
Naomi Osaka
Osaka is relatively new to the field and has enough seasons ahead of her to be as great as possible. She is only 24. Yet, the Japanese player is already making it big on the court with up to US$20.1 million in career prize money. Outside the court, Nike Workday, TAG Heuer, Louis Vuitton, Beats by Dre, and Mastercard have been courting her, making her US$55.2 million. She has four titles to her name and 2.8 million followers on Instagram. Her influence on people in her age group each year in the open field has been huge the last couple of years.
The Women’s Tennis Association ranked Osaka number one on women’s singles when she was only 22. This made her the first Japanese player to hold that position. With her age and a refreshing style, the world cannot wait to see what lies ahead for this star. She is currently the highest paid tennis player in the game.
Serena Williams
This 40-year-old American is a household name and one of the highest-paid tennis players who has been an inspiration to many in the field. Her 23 grand slam titles speak of her persistence and hard work each open season and year. Also, her outspoken nature has endeared her to her 14.1 million Instagram followers. She has had her share of criticism, but Serena will not allow anything to keep her from her goal. Her career prize money is US$94 million. She has partnered with ilson, Gatorade, Delta Air Lines, Aston Martin, Pepsi, Beats by Dre, JP Morgan Chase, Audemars Piguet, Bumble, Upper Deck, IBM, and Intel to make some US$35.5 million off-court.
Serena Williams used to be predominantly at the top of the Women’s chart of tennis players for women’s singles, but she has been dethroned lately to stand at number 47. That hasn’t really affected her earning ability since her brand has always been bigger than her sports personality. Her current net worth of US$200 million makes Williams the top-earning female tennis player of all times.
Conclusion
The list of other handsomely paid players includes Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, and Kei Nishikori. They haven’t played as long as most of these other stars, so they still have to show what they can do.
Most of these estimates for the highest-paid tennis players are made from listings put together by Forbes and do not include interest on investments. The figures reflect prize money. Other forms of income may only be known to the athletes. These are based on publicly available information such as endorsement deals, on-court earnings, and licensing. There is only one thing we can say for sure-they really work hard to get what they are earning. Being a professional tennis player is not an easy thing to do. Neither is being a celebrity brand name. And we are positive about one fact-this kind of wealth comes with a price.
