ATP & WTA: Richest active tennis players based on career earnings (No. 5-1)

Gender pay gap is very real thing in tennis. And while the Grand Slams and top level tournaments have done well to abolish that, the lower rung events continue to shower a major chunk of the resources on the men's game.

The pseudo effect of a fair division of wealth at the top of the game is created largely because of the dominance of three men at the top of the ATP tour. In fact, the Big 3 make for about 57 percent of the combined earnings of the top 10.

Tennis has come a long way since the early days, and events like the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open have played a big part in that. So as the women get a chance to narrow down the gap, here is a look at the figures that they are chasing.

5. Andy Murray ($61,544,007)

Andy Murray

The fifth spot is taken by the only man who could ever make inroads into the exclusive Big 3 club, Andy Murray. At the peak of his career, Murray forced the broadening of the term, and for a short while we had the Big 4.

Murray's Wimbledon crowns contributed just a small bit to the $60m-plus prize money that he has managed to rake in over the course of his glittering career.

4. Serena Williams ($92,715,122)

Serena Williams

Serena Williams is an absolute star of the game and her paycheck reflects that. Her 23 Slams have definitely contributed hugely to the $90 million figure, and she stands tall in this aspect of the sport.

Williams is the only woman who is in with a shot at the reaching the $100 million mark. She is also way ahead of her competitors, including the likes of her sister Venus and long-time rival Maria Sharapova, who lurk around the $40 million mark.

3. Rafael Nadal ($120,955,904)

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal might not have won as many Slams as his big rival, but he can sure bet on the $1 million plus prize money that comes with the Roland Garros crown every year.

The Spaniard has nonetheless left the rest of competition far behind and need not worry about anyone catching up to his third spot in the foreseeable future.

2. Roger Federer ($129,946,683)

Roger Federer

You have to hand it to Roger Federer for having had one of the longest and most illustrious careers that the sport has seen in a long while. The Swiss great's 20 Slams have all been memorable, and have made him the icon that he is today.

Had it not been for the meteoric rise in the prize purses of tournaments in the last decade, this figure of around $130 million would been very different. Federer still has a lot of tennis left in him, so who knows where the number stops.

1. Novak Djokovic ($143,631,560)

Novak Djokovic

If there was ever a player for whom the stars aligned perfectly, it has to be the current men's No. 1 player, Novak Djokovic. Born in an opportune age, Djokovic definitely made the best of everything that was available to him.

Unprecedented prize purses for major tournaments, that he kept winning one after the other, have seen him race to the top without winning as big or as much as some of the others on the list.

The Serb might not have been the most tasteful in his remarks on money in tennis and how it is distributed across the spectrum, but as it stands today, he tops the list with the highest career earnings.