Forbes recently released a list of the world’s highest-paid active tennis players in 2023, with Novak Djokovic leading the way. He is followed by the two young prodigies of tennis, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek. Djokovic’s earnings, however, fall short of Roger Federer by a massive $60,000,000 despite the latter retiring in 2022.
To calculate earnings, Forbes considers on-court earnings like prize money and off-court earnings like brand deals, endorsements etc. Federer is not eligible to feature on the list after his retirement but if he did, he would have been No.1 by a mile. The Swiss icon has always attracted many brand deals and continues to bag major endorsements even after retiring. There is daylight between his earnings and those of Djokovic, No.1 on Forbes’ list.
Highest-earner Novak Djokovic is dwarfed by Roger Federer
Djokovic took over Roger Federer as the richest earner in Forbes’ annual list of highest-earning tennis players. The Swiss had topped the list every year from 2017 until he bid adieu to the sport last year. The new no.1, Djokovic’s earnings were calculated to be $38.4 million, of which $25 million were off-court paychecks. Continuing their rivalry from the tennis court, Alcaraz is second on the list, taking home $31.4 million, $20 million coming from beyond the sport. Swiatek, third, is the highest-earning female player with a $22.4 million payday. Daniil Medvedev ($20.1 million) and Rafael Nadal ($15.5 million) complete the top 5. Emma Raducanu, Coco Gauff, Casper Ruud, Naomi Osaka, and Jessica Pegula round off the top 10.
The list for 2023 has a combined earning of $196 million. Roger Federer, who does not feature because he is no longer an active player, alone made $95.1 million this year. The money flowed in from the 20-time Grand Slam winner’s trove of marketing deals. He is one of the biggest ambassadors of Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo, which is also reportedly the largest deal Federer has signed. Other brands include Rolex, Mercedes Benz, and Credit Suisse. The Swiss legend’s RF brand continues to grow every year and bring in riches.
Federer made nearly $60,000,o00 more than the highest-earning active tennis player despite stepping away from the sport in September 2022. He has embarked on a path no tennis player has gone down before. The former World No.1 looks set to start his second innings, holding stakes in multiple businesses.
Federer is one of the biggest earners outside tennis as well
Not only does Federer’s $95.1 million payday put him beyond active tennis players, but it also gets him featured on the list of highest earners across all sports. He stands ninth on the 2023 edition of the annual Forbes list, headed by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar raked in $136 million, following a huge wage increment after moving to Saudi Arabia. He is followed by Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, LeBron James, Canelo Alvarez, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, in that order.
NBA star Stephen Curry is #8, one spot ahead of Federer, earning about $5 million more than the tennis legend. Behind Federer, another NBA star takes the 10th position. Kevin Durant occupies the final spot with $89.1 million. Federer is the only tennis player on the list and being the only retired player, has made almost nothing in the form of on-court earnings. Tennis and tennis players have a long way to go before the sport can boast of pay-outs big enough to feature on this list.
