Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Osaka and Serena Williams top list of highest-paid tennis stars in 2021

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic tennis stars were still able to earn quite a bit of money in 2021 and we bring you the highest-paid athletes from the sport in 2021.

The elite earners within the sport took a hit in income from the previous year, with the figure in 2020 (£252 million) falling by £14.5 million to a 2021 total of £237.5 million. That’s still nothing to be sniffed at, but things such as a lack of tournaments and exhibition matches will have reduced fees that the players would’ve received.

The Swiss legend fell in the tennis rankings, yet still maintained a place at the top of the income list. According to Forbes, Federer took home a cool $90.6 million. Second and third on the list are Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, respectively. The Japanese star, who is the reigning champion at both the US Open and Australian Open, took home an astonishing $60.1 million, while Serena also bagged a stunning fee of $41.8 million.

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Novak Djokovic comes in at fourth. His total isn’t far behind Serena, as the Serbian managed a cool $38 million, which he certainly won’t mind given the controversy about him recently regarding his vaccination status. Unsurprisingly, it is then Spaniard Rafael Nadal who rounds off the top five, taking home an impressive $27 million, but just behind him in sixth is Kei Nishikori, who pocketed $26 million.

Top 10 earners in 2021:

10. Ashleigh Barty - On-court earnings: $3.8m/Off-court earnings: $2m/Total earnings: $5.8m

9. Stefanos Tsitsipas - On-court earnings: $4.1m/Off-court earnings: $4m/Total earnings: $8.1m

8. Dominic Thiem - On-court earnings: $4.9m/Off-court earnings: $4m/Total earnings: $8.9m

7. Daniil Medvedev - On-court earnings: $5.9m/Off-court earnings: $8m/Total earnings: $13.9m

6. Kei Nishikori - On-court earnings: $1m/Off-court earnings: $25m/Total earnings: $26m

5. Rafael Nadal - On-court earnings: $4m/Off-court earnings: $23m/Total earnings: $27m

4. Novak Djokovic - On-court earnings: $8m/Off-court earnings: $30m/Total earnings: $38m

3. Serena Williams - On-court earnings: $1.8m/Off-court earnings: $40m/Total earnings: $41.8m

2. Naomi Osaka - On-court earnings: $5.1m/Off-court earnings: $55m/Total earnings: $60.1m

1. Roger Federer - On-court earnings: $0.6m/Off-court earnings: $90m/Total earnings: $90.6m