Federer Tops Forbes’s List of Top-Earning Tennis Players

Federer Tops Forbes’s List of Top-Earning Tennis Players
Switzerland's Roger Federer during his quarter final match against Poland's Hubert Hurkacz at the Wimbledon Championship, in London, U.K., on July 7, 2021. (Toby Melville/Reuters File Photo)
Reuters
9/2/2021
Updated:
9/2/2021

Roger Federer was the highest-earning tennis player in the world over the last 12 months, making about $90.6 million before taxes, despite the Swiss maestro’s time on court being limited by injury, Forbes wrote on Aug. 30.

Federer, who has skipped this year’s U.S. Open due to a knee injury, made less than $1 million from playing tennis, with the bulk of his income coming from endorsements, Forbes said.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka is the second-highest earner on the list, with $60.1 million in pre-tax income, more than 90 percent of which she made off court, with Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, and Rafa Nadal completing the top five.

Williams and Nadal are also out of the year’s final Grand Slam due to injury.

The 10 highest-paid tennis players collectively earned $320 million over the last 12 months, down 6 percent from last year, largely due to tournaments and lucrative exhibition matches being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Forbes said.

Despite the decrease, the top 10 made more money off court, taking in $281 million from endorsements, or 4 percent more than the previous year, even with reduced spending by a number of brands.

Top 10 highest earners in tennis:
  • Roger Federer - $90.6 million
  • Naomi Osaka - 60.1 million
  • Serena Williams - $41.8 million
  • Novak Djokovic - $38 million
  • Rafa Nadal - $27 million
  • Kei Nishikori - $26 million
  • Daniil Medvedev - $13.9 million
  • Dominic Thiem - $8.9 million
  • Stefanos Tsitsipas - $8.1 million
  • Ash Barty - $5.8 million
By Simon Jennings