Federer Ranks As Highest-Paid Tennis Player Ever, Finishes Ahead Of Djokovic, Nadal, Williams

Roger Federer was the highest-ranked tennis player on the list of the 50 highest-paid athletes of all time.

It has been nearly three years since Federer's legendary career ended at the 2022 Laver Cup. The eight-time Wimbledon champion's last match was a doubles match in London alongside his legendary rival and friend, Rafael Nadal.

Although Nadal, Serena Williams, and later Novak Djokovic all played very significant roles in growing tennis worldwide, Federer was undoubtedly the sport's flagship star and most popular figure for many years.

Sportico's list of the highest-paid athletes contains adjusted and non-adjusted figures to account for inflation for each player. The adjusted number is used to rank the men and women from No. 1 to No. 50.

Federer is No. 9 on the list with an incredible $1.59 billion in earnings, adjusted for inflation. Aside from winning over $100 million in prize money over the years, the Swiss Maestro had lucrative sponsorship deals with companies such as Gillette.

Nadal is at No. 26 with $735 million. The 14-time champion at the French Open retired at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in November. His last match was a defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarterfinal in Malaga.

Throughout his career, Nadal established himself as one of the classiest figures in sport. That respect for opponents, considerable success, and rivalries on the ATP Tour with Federer and Djokovic helped to make him so marketable.

Novak Djokovic is ranked seven places below Nadal at No. 33. The 24-time Grand Slam champion's adjusted earnings since the start of his career totaled $690 million, but he has time to increase that further before his career ends.

Most consider Djokovic to be the greatest tennis player. He is indisputably the most statistically successful man or woman to have ever played the sport. The Serbian's recent struggles for form do not change that reality.

Serena Williams was the sole WTA player on the list. She is No. 40 on Sportico's list with $660 million. Many think the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is the best female player in tennis history.

The American and her sister Venus, coming from humble backgrounds, make their story even more inspirational. She also faced much discrimination as a black woman, and the 43-year-old thinks she would have been treated more harshly than Jannik Sinner was in his doping case.

Andre Agassi is the final tennis player on the list at No. 44 with $635 million. Before Federer, the eight-time Grand Slam champion was the biggest superstar in tennis due to his colorful lifestyle, which complemented his excellent tennis.

Michael Jordan was No. 1 with $4.15 million. He became utterly synonymous with basketball and took it to new levels of popularity. Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, and Lionel Messi completed the Top 5.

The current generation of tennis players needs to make a lot of money to overtake Federer, in particular, but it is not impossible. Coco Gauff was the highest-paid female athlete in the world last year, as well as being ranked the most marketable tennis player worldwide.