It is no secret that Roger Federer is one of the most brilliant entrepreneurial minds in tennis. The retired superstar once made over $9 million simply by playing a few exhibition matches in one off-season week.
Federer’s 2019 season ended when he fell to a semi-final loss in the ATP Finals. Switzerland had also failed to qualify for the Davis Cup Finals, hence the 20-time Grand Slam champion had free time on his hands.
Roger Federer undertook an exhibition tour to South America, with fellow 2019 ATP Finals semi-finalist Alexander Zverev. In one week, the duo were scheduled to play five matches in five different countries. Fans in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador had a golden opportunity to see one of the biggest tennis stars live. While Argentina and Mexico have some top-tier ATP events annually, the other three nations rarely get tour-level tennis action.
The journey began in Chile before moving on to Argentina, where the Swiss icon was to face local legend Juan Martin del Potro. However, the 2009 US Open winner pulled out due to an injury as Zverev stepped in. The pair then travelled to Bogota, Colombia. The match, however, was called off due to a government curfew at the last minute.
Their subsequent exhibition ties in Mexico and Ecuador went ahead without any hiccups. In Mexico City, 42,517 fans thronged the bullfighting arena, converted to a stadium, to watch Federer beat Zverev. This was a record for the largest attendance at a single tennis match.
Federer’s masterstroke to organise such tours to countries that don’t see a lot of ATP Tour-level tennis paid great dividends for him. As per The Express, he minted £7.7million (over $9.7 million) from his 2019 South America expedition, which was less than a week long. Such great financial ideas have boosted his net worth to over $550 million.
Roger Federer richer by millions because of his popularity in smaller cities, boosted by exhibition events
Federer’s tours and other activities not only filled his coffers but also expanded his fanbase and popularity. Visiting and interacting with fans in cities that do not host any top-level tennis events meant he had a devoted fan following across the globe. In turn, almost like a virtuous cycle, this boosted demand for the Swiss icon in the ATP 250 tournaments held in smaller cities.
Hence, organisers of the lowest-rung ATP events often incentivised Roger Federer with massive appearance fees. His ability to pull crowds, even in the smaller cities, was such that it gave the tournament proprietors confidence they would recoup the payments. Competitions like the Thailand Open, Qatar Open, and Halle Open are some examples. Even certain ATP 500s benefitted from the former World No.1’s presence. He commanded huge fees from tournaments like the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Rotterdam Open as he drew record crowds.
Sources including TennisUpToDate estimate Federer asked for $1.1 million as appearance fees from such competitions. This is a few hundred thousand more than what Big 3 peers Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic charged. Nadal, in a way, also recreated Federer’s South America tour in 2022, with Casper Ruud. While it was also successful, Nadal did not earn as much as what his rival took home in 2019.
