The 10 tennis players who have broken the $40m prize-money barrier as Daniil Medvedev joins the club

Daniil Medvedev has become the latest tennis player – man or woman – to crack the $40,000,000 career prize money mark, but he is well adrift of the front runners on the distinguished list.

Ten players feature on the roll of honour as seven men and three women make the cut while only three have broken through the $100m barrier.

There are a couple of players not too far off the $40m milestone with Stan Wawrinka “only” $4m short of joining the club while on the WTA side Victoria Azarenka sits on $37,071,354.

Ten players to have earned $40m in career-prize money

10. Daniil Medvedev – $40,369,322

Daniil Medvedev broke the $40m prize-money mark at the Indian Wells Open, but added more dollars to his bank account with a run to the semi-final of the 2024 Miami Open.

The former world No 1’s best season in terms of earnings came in 2023 as he collected $11,548,023 in prize money with his biggest cheques coming from winning the Miami Open, Italian Open, Dubai Tennis Championships and finishing runner-up at the US Open and in Indian Wells.

Medvedev also earned $7,902,912 in 2019 and $7,481,274 in 2021.

9. Alexander Zverev – $40,541,820

Zverev started the 2024 Mexican Open on $39,989,255 and even though he lost in the first round of the ATP 500 event, he collected a cheque of $17,210 to move to past the $40m mark.

The German’s biggest payday came in 2021 when he won more than $2m after lifting the ATP Finals trophy while he also won the title in 2019 and finished runner-up to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.

8. Simona Halep – $40,226,687

Former world No 1 Simona Halep is third in the all-time list for WTA career-prize money earnings as she surpassed Maria Sharapova in 2022 – the final year that she competed before she was banned for doping.

The Romanian is a two-time Grand Slam winner having lifted titles at Roland Garros in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019. Her biggest season in terms of earnings came was in 2018 when she won $7,409,564.

READ MORE: Iga Swiatek closing in on astonishing prize money breakthrough as she joins tennis rich list

7. Venus Williams – $42,618,647

The great Venus Williams is second on the WTA all-time earning list, but she is well adrift of sister Serena in first place.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner earned $5,468,741 in prize money during the 2017 season after finishing runner-up at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

In the two seasons where she won two majors – 2000 and 2001 – she earned $2,074,150 and $2,662,610 respectively.

6. Pete Sampras – $43,280,489

All-time great Pete Sampras retired in 2002 yet he is still in the top five of all-time earners on the ATP Tour.

The American’s best payday came in 1997 when he collected $6,498,311, but there is no doubt he would have earned a lot more had he played in the 2000s, especially given he won the ATP Finals (the biggest payday these days) five times.

5. Andy Murray – $64,534,250

Andy Murray is well clear of Sampras in sixth place, but he is also a long distance behind fourth place.

The three-time Grand Slam winner competed in a time when he was up against the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and more often than not he held his own.

Murray earned a whopping $16,349,701 in 2016 after winning Wimbledon and the ATP Finals while he also finished runner-up at the Australian Open and French Open. That $16,349,701 is still the second-biggest earnings in a season by a player.

4. Serena Williams – $94,816,730

The legendary Serena Williams is well clear at the top of the all-time earnings list on the WTA Tour as she dominated women’s tennis in the early 2000s.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner collected $12,385,572 in 2013, which is the most any female player has earned in a season as she won the French Open, US Open and WTA Finals.

The American features five times on the list of top 10 best prize-money earnings seasons on the WTA Tour.

3. Roger Federer – $130,594,339

Roger Federer was the first man to reach the $50m, $60m, $70m, $80m and $90m career-prize-money earners milestones, but he was pipped to $100m by Novak Djokovic.

However, his $130m over a 24-year career remains an incredible achievement.

During his debut season in 1998, Federer earned $27,305 and in 2002 he broke the $1m mark as he collected $1,995,027. He then broke the $10m barrier in 2007 with $10,130,620 and 10 years later he got his biggest earnings season as he made $13,054,856.

Federer has already broken the $1.1 billion mark in terms of endorsements and prize money earnings.

2. Rafael Nadal – $134,659,704

Rafael Nadal features three times on the ATP Tour list for best earnings seasons as in 2019 he made $16,349,586, in 2017 he earned $15,864,000 and in 2013 he collected $14,570,935.

Given that he is set to retire from tennis at the end of the 2024 season, it is unlikely that the 22-time Grand Slam winner will break the $140m mark.

In case you were wondering, Nadal’s net worth is estimated to be $500 million.

1. Novak Djokovic – $181,658,118

Novak Djokovic became the first man to break the $100m prize-money earnings mark in 2016 and he is the only man to go past the $150m. The big question is will he break the $200m barrier before he retires?

The 24-time Grand Slam winner earned a staggering $21,146,145 during the 2015 season – the next best is $16m.

In case you thought he was slowing down in terms of earnings, in 2023 he collected $15,952,044.