Who are the best paid tennis stars in the World? Broadly speaking, paychecks for professional athletes can vary greatly, according to whether they are amongst the top players in their sport of choice or not. This happens not only because high performance is more handsomely rewarded, but also because top players get the chance to score big endorsement deals. Tennis is no exception.
According to Tennis Channel, tennis is the fastest growing sports with 25 million active players. More than 700 thousand viewers attended US Open every year and more than 70 million watch it on TV. Seventy six percent of tennis viewers also play tennis. The average household income of tennis viewers in the US is $82,754 vs. $64K US average. We should note that this is even higher than the average household income of Golf viewers: $71K. Eleven percent of tennis viewers drive luxury cars and twenty four percent of them are high end vacationers.
Following, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the top 10 best paid tennis stars in the world, ranked according to their 2013 earnings, originating both from tournament winning and endorsement deals combined. The figures used in the making of this countdown were taken from the statistics recently released by Forbes Magazine.
As is the case in most other sports, the bulk of the earning for the following tennis player came from endorsement deals and not tournament winnings. For example, Roger Federer, who emerged as the best paid tennis player in the world in 2013 won only one tournament that year, which brought him a $3.2 million paycheck. The other $65 million he made through endorsements.
Curious to see who are the top 10 best paid tennis stars in the world? Let’s take a look at the countdown. Don’t forget to check out the following lists: 5 Best Paid Chefs, 15 Best Paying Jobs For Women in 2014, and 10 Best Paying Jobs in America.
No. 10: Kei Nishikori (Japan)
Total earnings: $10.8 million
Tournament winnings (2013): $1.8 million
Endorsement deals revenue (2013): $9 million
No. of tours won in 2013: 1
No. 9: Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)
Total earnings: $12.8 million
Tournament winnings (2013): $1.8 million
Endorsement deals revenue (2013): $11 million
No. of tours won in 2013: 1
No. 8: Andy Murray (Scotland)
Total earnings: $13.4 million
Tournament winnings (2013): $5.4 million
Endorsement deals revenue (2013): $8 million
No. of tours won in 2013: 4 (one of which a Grand Slam championship – Wimbledon)
No. 7: Victoria Azarenka (Belorussia)
Total earnings: $15.5 million
Tournament winnings (2013): $6.5 million
Endorsement deals revenue (2013): $9 million
No. of tours won in 2013: 3 (one of which a Grand Slam championship – Australian Open)
No. 6: Na Li (China)
Total earnings: $19 million
Tournament winnings (2013): $4 million
Endorsement deals revenue (2013): $15 million
No. of tours won in 2013: 1
No. 5: Serena Williams (USA)
Total earnings: $24.4 million
Tournament winnings (2013): $12.4 million
Endorsement deals revenue (2013): $24.4 million
No. of tours won in 2013: 11 (2 of which were Grand Slam championships – the US and the French Open)
No. 4: Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
Total earnings: $26.4 million
Tournament winnings (2013): $12.4 million
Endorsement deals revenue (2013): $14 million
No. of tours won in 2013: 7 (one out of which was a Grand Slam championship – Australian Open)
No. 3: Maria Sharapova (Russia)
Total earnings: $26.5 million
Tournament winnings (2013): $3.5 million
Endorsement deals revenue (2013): $23 million
No. of tours won in 2013: 2
No. 2: Rafael Nadal (Spain)
Total earnings: $35.6 million
Tournament winnings (2013): $14.6 million
Endorsement deals revenue (2013): $21 million
No. of tours won in 2013: 10 (2 out of which were Grand Slam championships – French Open and US Open)
Best Paid Tennis Star In The World: Roger Federer (Switzerland)
Total earnings: $68.2 million
Tournament winnings (2013): $3.2 million
Endorsement deals revenue (2013): $65 million
No. of tours won in 2013: 1
