Tennis Prize Money Tracker 2024: Which Player Earned the Most?

With $10.59 million in tournament earnings, Jannik Sinner is the current leader in tennis prize money through September 9. The Italian took home $3.6 million for winning the US Open in September, along with the $2.1 million he earned for his first major title at the Australian Open in January. Sinner was recently stripped of the $325,000 he earned at Indian Wells after testing positive for a banned substance, but he more than made up for it by winning his sixth tournament of 2024.

Aryna Sabalenka, the other singles winner in both Melbourne and New York, is ranked third with $7.98 million in prize money so far this year. The women’s world number two received the same payouts as Sinner for her victories at the two hardcourt Grand Slams, but has won just one other title this year.

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Carlos Alcaraz is in second place with $8.16 million thanks to his two major victories at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Alcaraz is only 21 years old and already ranks ninth all-time in ATP career prize money, with a total of more than $35 million.

Halfway through the season, women occupy three of the top 10 spots in the 2024 prize money rankings. Forty-nine men and 44 women have earned more than $1 million from their on-court performances so far this calendar year.

The US Open, which concluded on Sunday, was the last of the four Grand Slams in 2024. The last chance for the top players to cash big this year will be the ATP Tour Finals and WTA Tour Finals in November. The latter has already announced a prize pool of $15.2 million to be divided among an exclusive group of eight participants.

How does prize money work in tennis?

When tennis players compete in tournaments, they are compensated based on the round in which they lose, with payouts increasing somewhat exponentially as the player continues to win. A first-round loser at Indian Wells 2024 will receive $30,050, while the tournament runner-up will win $585,000 and the champion will receive $1.1 million.

Singles draws generally pay out more money than doubles draws, but singles players can also boost their winnings by participating in doubles tournaments that feature both formats.

The money at stake in different tournaments varies greatly. Throughout the year, there are 250-level, 500-level, and 1000-level events; the number refers to how many ranking points winners receive. Tournaments with more points at stake generally pay more money.

Which tennis tournament has the highest prize money?

The four majors, the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open, award 2,000 ranking points. They also have larger prize money.

For example, the 2023 US Open paid out $3 million to each singles winner, while the 2023 Winston-Salem Open, an ATP 250 event, handed out $104,000 to the champion the week before. Many pros also compete on the Challenger Tour, where players typically take home low five-figure paydays for winning an event.

Although the ATP Finals and WTA Finals attract far less public attention than the majors at the end of the calendar, they are extremely lucrative. In fact, the $4.41 million Novak Djokovic earned for winning the 2023 ATP Finals is almost more than he earned for winning the 2023 Australian Open ($2 million) and 2023 French Open ($2.5 million) combined.

Do men earn more than women in tennis?

Last year, 15 women and 21 men earned at least $2 million. The four majors have paid both sexes the same amount since 2007, but many major events that feature both men and women still pay men significantly more. For example, the 2023 Cincinnati Open paid out about $6.6 million to male players and just $2.8 million to female players, while the prize money gap at lower-level tournaments is even wider.

In 2022, Świątek was so dominant on the court that she nearly became the first woman to become the highest-paid tennis player in a single season since 2003, when Kim Clijsters ($4.47 million) surpassed Roger Federer ($4 million). In 2023, however, the gender pay gap at the top of the sport was the widest in decades. The top 10 male players collectively earned $84.6 million in 2023, 62% more than the $52.1 million earned by the top 10 female players.

In the global professional sports landscape, tennis continues to offer the most earning potential for women, with seven of the top 10 highest-paid female athletes playing tennis in 2023. Many tournaments have committed to equal pay in the near future, but much work remains to be done to close the gap overall.

Male tennis stars also benefit significantly from ATP bonus pools, which share extra winnings with the game’s top players. Bonus payouts are based on year-end ranking and participation in a certain number of 1000-level tournaments, but last year the pool increased to $21.3 million, where it will remain until 2024.

Which tennis player has the most prize money?

For both sexes, tennis is financially dominated by the elite. Last year, Djokovic earned almost four times as much as the 11th highest-paid man, Taylor Fritz, and there was a similar ratio between Swiatek’s earnings and that of the 11th highest-paid woman, Petra Kvitova.

The ATP Finals and WTA Finals last year had more than $14 million and $9 million in prize money, respectively. These tournaments only feature the top eight players in the rankings, contributing to the top-heavy prize money distribution in tennis. They are essentially “rich get richer” events to end the season.

Djokovic’s 2023 ATP Finals victory gave him the fifth-highest ever prize money in a season, with inflation giving him a boost from his own dominant campaigns in 2011 and 2012. He now has five of the top 10 prize money seasons of all time and began the season with a $46 million lead over Rafael Nadal for the most career earnings.

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