Men's Tennis: 5 Players with the Highest Career Prize Money Earnings

Unlike in olden days, prize money in tennis tournaments especially Grand Slams have risen significantly over the years. So much so that many a time players have played through the injury in the first round to only retire mid-way through the match so that they can collect the prize money. The US Open was the first Grand Slam to ensure equal pay for both men and women and it did so way back in 1973. Australian Open followed when it brought about pay parity in the year 2001. French Open did so in 2006. The last Grand Slam to award equal prize money to both men and women was Wimbledon when it did so in the year 2007. But barring the Grand Slams, there is a huge difference between what women earn and what men earn for their on-court performances. The top-100 Men's players on the ATP circuit year-on-year earn more than their women counterparts on the WTA circuit. We take a look at the 5 highest earning professionals in the ATP circuit :

#5 Pete Sampras

The only retired player in the list is Pete Sampras. The big-serving American known as 'Pistol Pete' for his super quick serves won a total of 14 Grand Slams. Pete Sampras and his long-time rival fellow American Andre Agassi dominated men's tennis in the 1990's. His tally of 64 Singles' titles which included 5 Tour Finals victories helped him amass a total career-prize money of $43,280,489.

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#4 Andy Murray

Andy Murray with the 2016 ATP Finals trophy

Scot Andy Murray part of the fabled 'Big 4' of tennis has been a consistent performer for well over a decade. The outspoken advocate for equal pay for both male and female tennis players, the Brit has won a total of 45 Singles titles including 3 Grand Slams, 1 ATP Tour Finals and 2 Olympic Gold Medals. His consistency across tournaments on different surfaces over the years have helped him win a total of $60,931,985 in career prize money till date.

#3 Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal after winning his 11th Monte-Carlo Masters

The greatest clay-court player of all-time Rafael Nadal has been a consistent performer on tour since he won his first Masters title at Monte-Carlo in 2005. The Mallorcan has won a whopping 80 Singles titles including an all-time record of 33 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles. He has also won a record 20 ATP World Tour 500 tournaments. The only major title to elude the great Spaniard is the ATP Tour Finals where he has finished as runner-up twice. Nadal's on-court exploits have earned him a fortune of $103,251,975 and with him currently ranked No.1 in the ATP rankings, it doesn't look unlikely at all that he will give others above him a run for their money.

#2 Roger Federer

Roger Federer at The Laver Cup,2018

The man widely considered to be 'The Greatest of All-Time' is just two short of winning an even 100 Singles' titles. The only man to have won the 'BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year' a record four times has continued to play tennis at the highest level well into his late thirties unlike greats from earlier eras. This has greatly contributed to Roger Federer's popularity across generations of tennis fans and have also helped him rake in substantial amounts of prize money over the years. The winner of a record 20 Grand Slam titles and 6 ATP Tour Finals has amassed a career-prize money of $117,773,812 till date.

#1 Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic with the 2018 US Open trophy

Serbian Novak Djokovic who astonishingly has a superior head-to-head record against both of his famed rivals - Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal also has earned more till date than both of his contemporaries. The only man to have held all 4 Grand Slam Singles titles at the same time in the Open Era recently completed 'The Career Golden Masters' when he won the only ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy missing in his arsenal - The Cincinnati Masters. His success can be attributed to a high degree of consistency in 2011, 2015 and 2016 during which he dominated the men's game. The Serb who won an astounding 6 ATP Masters 1000 titles in 2015 was the first man to breach the 100 million dollar mark. He did so during the 2016 French Open. His career-prize money till date is $119,110,890.