The World's Highest-Paid Tennis Players

Published>Fri, Sep 03 10 08:57 AM

Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes.com

Male and female athletes typically play for vastly different sums of money in their respective sports. Michelle Wie pocketed $337,500 for her second career LPGA victory last weekend, while Matt Kuchar's paycheck was $1.35 million for claiming the Barclays men's golf event on Sunday. The best-paid players in the WNBA make $100,000 per season on the court, while men's salaries can reach $23 million.

Tennis is different though. The men's and women's US Open champion will each earn $1.7 million for the title. The US Open has paid equal prize money the past 38 years, but credit Venus Williams who fought for equal pay at Wimbledon which finally acquiesced in 2007 as did the French Open.

Slide Show: The World's Highest-Paid Tennis Players

Slide Show: The World's 10 Highest-Paid Female Athletes

Celebrity 100: The Athletes

Pound Frowns As Bank Of England Squelches Rate-Hike Speculation

Where Americans Spend The Most

Our look at the highest-paid tennis players typifies this kind of equality in the game. Half of the top 10 are men, and half are women. Leading the pack is Roger Federer who is light years ahead of anyone else thanks to his longtime dominance on the court and 10 lucrative sponsorship deals with the likes of Nike, Wilson, Gillette and Mercedes-Benz. The world's No. 2 ranked player earned $43 million by our count over the past 12 months.

Several of these athletes showed up on our lists of the highest-paid athletes and female athletes this summer. In all cases for incomes we include: prize money, endorsements, exhibitions and appearance fees over the past 12 months without taxes or agent's fees deducted.

As US Open play kicks off play this week a few headliners will be on the sidelines including Serena Williams (No. 4 on our list with $20 million) and Justine Henin (not on the list) who have won a combined 22 Grand Slam singles titles. The favorite in their absence is Kim Clijsters who captured last year's title after a two year retirement where she gave birth to a daughter.

Maria Sharapova will also be there, seeded 14th. And while she's no longer a favorite to win the Open, when it comes to money, she's already champion, hauling in $24.5 million over the last year thanks to rich sponsors like Nike, Prince, and Tiffany, making her the second-highest paid player in tennis and the best-paid female athlete in the world.

Sharapova inked an eight-year contract extension with Nike this year that could be worth as much as $70 million thanks to royalties from her own tennis line and a line of bags and shoes through Nike subsidiary Cole-Haan.

The men's side is missing last year's champ Juan Martin del Potro. The men's tourney still features the sport's two heavyweights Roger Federer and Roger Nadal who have captured 20 of the past 22 Grand Slams. Nadal overtook Federer this year on the court as the top-ranked player but financially Federer earns twice as much as his rival.

There was a time when Federer was an underappreciated champion who played with a below-market value Nike deal and had little cachet in the U.S. which affected his endorsements. Those days are over. Despite his recent on-court problems, Federer is widely celebrated as one of the greatest players to ever swing a racket. He re-signed with Nike in 2008 for a 10-year that is the most lucrative endorsement deal in tennis worth more than $10 million annually.

Nadal pulled in $21 million over the past year with $5.6 million in prize money and the rest from endorsements and appearance fees. He ranks No. 3 on our list. Nadal's biggest endorsement deal is with Nike, which has tried to make money on Nadal by moving him out of his customary clamdiggers and sleeveless shirts. Nadal has adjusted to his new threads as he's racked up five tourney wins this year and captured the top ranking after struggling with injuries in 2009. Nadal also counts Kia Motor, Babolat and several Spanish companies as sponsors.

One player always trying new things with her apparel line is Venus Williams who earned $15 million over the past year, good for No. 5 on our list. Her history of apparel sponsors has included Puma, Nike, Reebok and her own Eleven brand. Her latest deal is with Polo Ralph Lauren where the two will produce a co-branded dress for sale on-site at the Open. If successful, the relationship could blossom into something more permanent.

The shoe and apparel deal is almost always the largest endorsement for the top players in tennis. The value of these deals can rise dramatically based on bonuses for tournaments won and year-end rankings. As in most sports Nike is the king in tennis when it comes to signing the best (and most expensive) talent. It has deals with our four highest-paid athletes who have combined for 40 Grand Slam singles titles.

Source: Web Search