Federer leads tennis players in highest paid athletes of 2022 list despite not playing competitive tennis

Roger Federer was the tennis player that earned the most according to the latest Forbes list however he wasn't much of an active tennis player this year.

He only played one official match and it was a double match, something he isn't known for. Federer is the only tennis player that was featured in the top 10 of the top earners in sports. Most of his earnings didn't come from tennis directly as he spent very little time on the court but it's something he has in common with the other tennis players featured in the top 50.

Only two more tennis players were featured in the top 50 and they are Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka. Neither spent much time on the court with most of their earnings coming from brand deals like Federer's. Osaka was ranked 19th overall with Serena Williams coming in at 31.

No other tennis player was featured in the top 50 of the top earners in sports which is interesting to note particularly with powerful names like Djokovic and Nadal in the mix. Nadal won two grand slams as well so his omission surprised some fans.

Lionel Messi finished first.

1. Lionel Messi – Football – $130 million

2. LeBron James – Basketball – $121.2 million

3. Cristiano Ronaldo – Football – $115 million

4. Neymar – Football – $95 million

5. Stephen Curry – Basketball – $92.8 million

6. Kevin Durant – Basketball – $92.1 million

7. Roger Federer – Tennis – $90.7 million

8. Canelo Alvarez – Boxing – $90 million

9. Tom Brady – American Football – $83.9 million

10. Giannis Antetokounmpo – Basketball – $80.9 million

11. Russell Westbrook – Basketball – $79.2 million

12. James Harden – Basketball – $74.4 million

13. Matthew Stafford – American Football – $72.3 million

14. Aaron Rodgers – American Football – $68 million

14. Tiger Woods – Golf – $68 million

16. Josh Allen – American Football – $67 million

17. Lewis Hamilton – Motor Racing – $65 million

18. Tyson Fury – Boxing – $62 million

19. Naomi Osaka – Tennis – $59.2 million

20. Damian Lillard – Basketball – $57.4 million