While the prize money are bread and butter for most of the players ranked around the 100th position in the rankings and lower, the best players, ranked inside of the best 5, most typically make the great majority of their money via sponsorship deals.
Only recently, Sinner inked a deal with Nike worth over $150 million, illustrating how insignificant the amount gained in prize money is to him, considering that the highest-ranked player on the ATP Tour has much more brand deals, including labels like Gucci, Formula 1, Lavazza, Rolex, and many, many more.
However, getting prize money is still quite good for tennis players, and it isn’t only because of the monetary worth, but because earning a lot implies winning a lot, and at the end of the day, as athletes and competitive people, that’s what they care about.
Currently, on the ATP Tour, it’s the young Italian who leads the prize money standings. Thanks to his journey into the Roland Garros semi-final, in which he lost to Carlos Alcaraz, the world no. 1 player has earned $5,162,330 in 2024, out of which $5,137,734 comes from singles and $24,596 from doubles.
Closely behind him are Alexander Zverev, who accumulated $4,632,574 in 2024, and recent French Open champion Alcaraz, whose earnings are also close to the $5 million barrier, with $4,517,181 pocketed throughout the first six months of the 2024 season.
On the WTA Tour, there is a significantly greater separation between the leader and the rest of the pack. In 2024, Iga Swiatek is the best prize money earner, not just among women, but overall, having earned $6,683,749, primarily because to her recent run, which included winning the Madrid Open, the Italian Open in Rome, and the Roland Garros.
Behind the Polish player is Aryna Sabalenka, who accumulated $3,714,831 in 2024. Following the two is the recent French Open finalist, Jasmine Paolini, who, thanks to her great run, made it to third place among the prize money earners on the WTA Tour in 2024.
The Italian won $2,799,735, which indicates that Swiatek earned more than the second and third prize money earners on the WTA Tour combined in 2024.