ATP Career Prize Money Leaders: Novak Djokovic reigns supreme, Zverev climbs to fifth, Alcaraz and Sinner crash the top-10

Novak Djokovic is the absolute leader in ATP career prize money with a lead of more than $50 million over his closest pursuer, Rafael Nadal. The podium is, of course, completed by Roger Federer, making them the only male tennis players to have surpassed the $100 million mark in on-court earnings.

At TennisUpToDate, we review the top earners on the ATP Tour, with six active players in the top 10. With only a few years in their careers, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have already secured their places in the top 10 for all-time prize money. Curiously, both are still behind the German Alexander Zverev, who holds the fifth position behind the Big-4.

Over the years, prize money has increased progressively at every tournament, which has helped more contemporary players achieve higher positions despite not achieving the same results as their predecessors. Players like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Grigor Dimitrov, and Andrey Rublev manage to enter the top 20, while other multiple Grand Slam champions like Boris Becker or Ivan Lendl fall further down the table.

The Big 3 (or 4) far outpace the rest

It is not surprising that Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer dominate the career prize money list—in that exact order. Djokovic pulls away with a total of $189M in earnings, of which $3.4M were from this year. The Serbian player owes a large part of his earnings to his 24 Grand Slam titles, 7 ATP Finals, and 40 Masters 1000 titles, numbers that are practically unrepeatable and that position him as the most decorated tennis player of all time. The 13 lost Grand Slam finals, 2 at the ATP Finals, and 20 at Masters 1000 events also contribute a significant part to his prize money, putting him more than $50 million ahead of second place.

Rafael Nadal is in second position with 22 Grand Slam titles—and 8 other finals lost—in addition to 36 Masters 1000 titles—and 17 other finals lost. The Spaniard won 92 professional titles and reached 39 other finals, leaving him with a total sum of almost $135 million in earnings, slightly more than Roger Federer, whom he surpassed in the final part of his career.

The Swiss has iconic numbers with 20 Grand Slam titles and 11 finals reached, in addition to 28 Masters 1000 titles (22 finals), as well as 6 ATP Finals and 5 lost finals. He has 103 total titles in 157 finals, in addition to multiple appearances in the final rounds of Grand Slam tournaments. The Swiss maestro’s earnings are just over $130 million, only behind his two greatest rivals Nadal and Djokovic, and more than double that of the fourth-place player.

The honorable fourth place can be for none other than Andy Murray, a British player who was always one step behind the Big 3, but who deservedly earned his spot among the tennis players with the highest career earnings. Murray was a champion of 3 Grand Slam titles and reached 8 other finals. He also won 14 Masters 1000 titles and one ATP Finals, not to mention that he finished in the top four for eight seasons through consistency and great results. He reached a total of $64 million in earnings.

The Rest of the Top 10

Interestingly, fifth place is for a player who has never won a Grand Slam title: the German Alexander Zverev. Being one of the most consistent players of the last decade, he has continued to accumulate large sums at Grand Slam tournaments—where he has reached three finals—in addition to his seven Masters 1000 titles and two ATP Finals. The case is similar for the 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, whose consistency in the last decade places him as No. 7 on the career prize money list.

The current leaders of the Tour, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, also have their place among the best. Carlitos, with his five Grand Slam titles, is in fifth place—only about $6 million behind Zverev and with several fewer years in his career. In Sinner's case, he climbs to eighth place with just over $45 million in earnings, a minimal difference from Alcaraz (less than two million).

In ninth place appears 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras, who totaled an incredible sum of $43 million in earnings, something more than remarkable for someone whose heyday was more than 30 years ago. Completing the top 10 is the three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka, who is still active and has reached $37 million in earnings.