Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world, with over one billion fans. Not only is it fast-paced, but it also involves high-stakes, which makes it favorite among people of all ages. If anything, it’s only behind soccer and hockey in terms of popularity.
Are you a fan? Wondering who the richest tennis players in the world are? If so, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled a list of some of the wealthiest tennis stars below. Keep reading to find out who they are!
Top 10 Richest Tennis Players In The World In 2024
Without further ado, let’s take a look at who’s on the list (along with their net worths).
10. John McEnroe – Net Worth: $100 Million
John McEnroe is the only male tennis player in history to be ranked number one in both singles and doubles simultaneously. Not only that but he is also the only male players to have won over 70 titles in both the men’s singles and doubles categories. Known for his volleying and shot-making skills, he began his career as an amateur in 1977 and quickly progressed through the ranks. By 1979, he and his partner Peter Fleming had won the men’s doubles titles at the Wimbledon Championships.
He then had his best season in 1984, achieving a new singles match record of 82-3, which remains to be the highest single-season win rate of the Open Era. That same year, he won 13 singles tournaments including the US Open and Wimbledon Championships.
After a multi-decade career, McEnroe retired from singles in 1994 and from doubles in 2006. To this day, he holds multiple records including having contributed to the Davis Cup title five times. He was also named the ITF World Champion and ATP Player of the Year three times.
Since retiring, he has stayed active in the sport, often competing on the ATP Champions Tour, which is meant for former professional tennis players. From time to time, he also works as a commentator during major tennis tournaments.
9. Andy Murray – Net Worth: $100 Million
Andy Murray is a professional tennis player who represents Britain. Originally coached by his mother, he began training at the Sanchez-Casal Academy at the age of fifteen. By 2005, he had made his professional debut on the main tour in Barcelona.
Since then, he has defeated Djokovic at the US Open and have become the first British tennis player to win the men’s singles title. Not only that but he has also won three Grand Slam single titles, one at the US Open and two at Wimbledon. In 2012, he also won a gold medal in the men’s singles category. He would later win two additional gold medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
An all-court player, he excels in multiple areas including returning serve, defense, and constructing points. In fact, it’s often considered as having one of the best two-handed backhands. In Great Britain, he’s also regarded as a national hero for having re-established the nation as a leading force in men’s tennis–something that hasn’t been achieved since the early twentieth century.
8. Pete Sampras – Net Worth: $150 Million
Pete Sampras, also known as “Pistol Pete” for his powerful and precise serve, began playing tennis at a young age after moving to Palos Verdes, California, with his family. By the time he was a teen, his talent had become apparent; he subsequently began training with Robert Lansdorp, from whom he learned his forehand.
In 1988, he turned professional at the age of 16. His first match was against Sammy Giammalva, Jr. at the Ebel US Pro Indoor. Though he lost, he eventually defeated two top-40 players at the Lipton International Players Championships just a week later. By 1991, he had won his first career title at the Tennis Masters Cup.
In the end, he continued playing professional until 2002. During that period, he won 14 major singles titles, including two Australian Open titles, seven Wimbledon titles, and five US Open titles, which was an all-time record at the time of his retirement. In 1993, he also reached number one in he world rankings, a position that he held for 286 weeks. He was eventually inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007.
7. Andre Agassi – Net Worth: $175 Million
Pete Sampras is a former professional tennis player who represented the United States. Not only is he an eight-time major champion, but he also won a gold medal in the men’s singles event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
As a teen, he trained at Nick Bollettierri’s Tennis Academy in Florida. Though he was only meant to stay for three months, as that was all his family could afford, his talent impressed Bollettieri to the point where he eventually offered him free training. Agassi subsequently dropped out of school to pursue tennis full-time.
By the time he was 16, he had turned professional, having participated in his first tournament, where he won against John Austin. In the end, he continued playing until 2006; he ultimately retired from the sport after suffering from sciatica and a bone spur, the latter of which affected his nerve.
To date, he remains the most recent American tennis player to have won the Australian Open and the French Open. Throughout his professional career, he also won 17 Masters title and was a member of the winning Davis Cup teams between 1990 and 1995. And while he was struggled with various personal issues during that period, he reached number one in the world rankings for the first time in 1995.
6. Maria Sharapova – Net Worth $180 Million
Maria Sharapova is a Russian tennis player who previously held the world number one title. Raised in Sochi, Russia, she began playing tennis at the age of four after being given her first tennis racket. She then attended a tennis clinic run by former professional tennis player Martina Navratilova.
Encouraged to pursue professional training, Sharapova and her family eventually traveled to the United States, where she initially trained with Rick Macci. By the time she was nine, she was signed by IMG, who agreed to pay her tuition fees at the IMG Academy.
At the age of 18, she became the world number one for the first time, a position that she retained for six weeks. She then went on to win five major titles, two at the French Open, and one at the US Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open. She also represented Russia at the 2012 London Olympic Games, where she won silver in the women’s singles event.
In 2016, however, she failed a drug test after testing positive for a banned substance at the Australian Open. As a result, she was banned from competing by the International Tennis Federation for two years. The suspension was later reduced after it was determined that she hadn’t committed “significant fault.”
5. Rafael Nadal – Net Worth: $220 Million
Rafael Nadal is a professional tennis player who represents Spain. Currently, he is ranked number two in men’s singles. He also previously held the number one position for 209 weeks.
Born in Manacor, Spain, he began playing tennis at the age of three after being introduced to the sport by his uncle, who also became his coach. By the time he was eight, he had won his first under-12 regional championship. Despite turning down the tennis federation’s request for him to train at Barcelona, he eventually turned professional at the age of 15.
Since then, he has won 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, which is an all-time record, 92 ATP singles titles, including 36 Master titles. Not only that but he has also completed the Career Golden Slam in singles and is one of only two male tennis players to have achieved such a feat. Representing Spain, he has also won two Olympic gold medals–one from the 2008 Beijing Games and one from the 2016 Rio Games.
Currently, he trains at the Rafa Nadal Sports Centre, which he owns in his hometown of Manacor. In addition to that, he owns and operates there additional facilities in Cancun, Kuwait, and Al Zahra.
4. Novak Djokovic – Net Worth: $225 Million
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world number one by the ATP. Born in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia, he began playing tennis at the age of four after his parents gave him a small racket and ball. Noticing his talent, they eventually sent him to a local tennis camp.
At the age of 16, he turned professional after entering the ATP tour, during which he mainly played in Challenger and Futures tournaments. Around the same time, he made his first Grand Slam tournament appearance after qualifying for the Australian Open.
Since then, he has made numerous strides in his professional career. In 2008, he won his first major title at the Australian Open, which disrupted both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s streak of 11 consecutive major titles. In 2011, he also won three major titles and five Master titles, making him the most successful male tennis player of the decade.
Representing Serbia, he also competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he won the bronze medal in the men’s singles event.
3. Serena Williams – Net Worth: $250 Million
Serena Williams is often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Along with her sister Venus, she was coached by her parents Richard Williams and Oracence Price and had turned professional at the age of 14.
By the 2000s, she had won numerous major titles, having won the US Open, Australian Open, and French Open. While she continued to compete, injuries eventually led her to take a break. She eventually returned to the sport in 2007, retaking the world number one ranking. Not only that but she also represented the United States at the 2012 London Olympic games, where she won gold in the female’s singles event.
She then won her 23rd major singles title at the 2017 Australian Open, before taking a break from the sport due to becoming pregnant. She later returned and played her final match at the 2022 US Open.
To date, she is one of the highest-earning woman athletes of all time. In 2016, she earned nearly $29 million, a feat that she later repeated in 2017. More recently, she was also included in Forbes’ World’s Highest Paid Athletes list.
2. Roger Federer – Net Worth: $550 Million
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who is widely regarded as the best tennis player of all time. Along with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, he was known as the Big Three and regularly dominated men’s tennis.
During the height of his career, he played 21 major singles finals, where he won three of the four majors. He also competed at the Wimbledon and US Open regularly and had won five consecutive titles. In 2009, he also completed the career Grand Slam at the French Open. From there, he surpassed Pete Sampras’ all-time record of 14 major men’s titles at the 2009 Wimbledon tournament.
After competing for more than two decades, he retired from professional tennis in September 2022 after the Laver Cup. One of the highest-paid athletes in any sport, he is an active philanthropist and runs the Roger Federer Foundation, which helps impoverished children in Africa. Not only that but he also played a huge role in the making of the Laver Cup competition.
1. Ion Tiriac – Net Worth: $1.2 Billion
Ion Tiriac, aka “Brascov Bulldozer” is a former professional tennis player and the current president of the Romaniain Tennis Federation. From 1998 to 2004, he was also the president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee.
During his professional career, he played dramatic five-settlers against Manuel Orantes, Jan Kodes, Rod Laver, and Stan Smith. He also won against Roscoe Tanner, Anders Gimeno, Niki Pilic, and Adriana Panatta.
Since retiring from professional tennis in 1979, he has become a successful businessman with many companies under his name. He’s also an avid car collector and has hundreds of historical vehicles, which are on full-time display at The Tiriac Collection. Not only that but he has served as manager and coach for several notable names including Mary Joe Fernandez, Marat Safin, Ilie Nastase, and Guillermo Vllas. He also managed the career of Boris Becker from 1984 to 1993.
According to Forbes Magazine, he has an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. For his work in promoting tournaments, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013, after being nominated in the contributor category the previous year.
