Anyone who loves tennis dreams of being an elite player but just how lucrative is tennis at the highest level? Believe it or not, the world’s best tennis players are among the highest earners in all of sport. The 2012 US Open had a prize fund of over $25 million and with interest in the game at an all-time high, sponsors are falling over themselves to become involved with this wonderful sport. Elite tennis players are recognizable worldwide so their advertising power is immense. As a result, the top ranked players earn more off the court than on it! We give a quick rundown on the world’s 5 highest tennis players using figures from July 2011 to June 2012.

5 – Li Na

This is almost certainly a surprise name but Li Na earned an incredible $18.4 million in a year through her tennis exploits. She was a success on the ITF circuit in the early part of her career but only began her ascent to the top in 2010. Her French Open win in 2011 catapulted her to stardom and her $1.4 million court earnings were dwarfed by her seven multimillion endorsement deals. In total, she earned $17 million off court in a single year!

4 – Novak Djokovic

The current world #1 has 6 grand slam titles and is #3 in the all-time earnings list. During the 2011-2012 period we outlined, Djokovic enjoyed a fabulous season winning $10.3 million on the court coupled with $9.5 million in endorsements. In fact, his success triggered bonuses that one of his sponsors, Sergio Tacchini, was unable to pay and he left them for Uniqlo.

3 – Maria Sharapova

While she is only the world #2, she is the #1 earner on the women’s circuit. Her $5.1 million court earnings are impressive but doesn’t compare to the huge $22 million she earned in endorsements. She has a $70 million deal with Nike over an 8 year period and she is also using her name to launch ‘Sugerpova’, a new candy!

2 – Rafael Nadal

With 11 grand slam titles and 53 overall career tournament victories, Nadal is rightly hailed as one of the greats. His bank balance reflects his success as he earned just over $7.4 million on court and $25 million off it. He achieved all this despite missing several major tournaments during the year with a knee injury. Expect him to earn even more next year!

1 – Roger Federer

Federer is possibly the best tennis player ever and holds the record for most Grand Slam titles with 17. Reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated as he is still ranked #3 in the world but no one can touch the Swiss athlete when it comes to earning power. Along with the $9.3 million he earned through his tennis exploits, Federer earned an unbelievable $45 million off court with sponsors such as Rolex, Nike and Gillette paying him for advertising their products.

While we can only dream of emulating the achievements of these stars, the earning power of these amazing players is proof that tennis is a globally recognized sport and if you put in the effort and have the talent, a lucrative career is possible.

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About the author: My name is Julio and I enjoy writing about professional tennis and tennis instruction, including where to find a good Gilbert tennis instructor.