Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz lead Forbes tennis earnings as women take six top-ten spots

Sinner and Alcaraz take the top financial spots

Italian player Jannik Sinner ranked first in Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's highest-earning tennis players, earning $58 million before taxes over the past twelve months. Sinner gathered $23 million from on-court earnings, including tournament prize money and ATP tour bonuses, establishing the highest single-year on-court income recorded in the history of the ranking. Off the court, the ATP world ranking leader earned $35 million through sponsorships, appearances, and other commercial contracts. Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz followed closely in second position with total earnings of $53.7 million. While Alcaraz trailed Sinner in overall income, he led all tennis players in off-court revenues, generating $38 million from advertising campaigns, exhibition fees, and business endeavors.

Serena Williams returns with commercial strength

Serena Williams claimed third place in the ranking with $40.1 million in total earnings, drawing nearly all of her revenue from corporate sponsorships and business investments. The 44-year-old American player earned $131,000 on the tennis court this year after resuming competitive tour play in June 2025, which ended a break of nearly four years following her initial retirement announcement. Forbes estimates her total net worth at $400 million, identifying her as the wealthiest woman globally to build her fortune as an athlete. Following her return to the tour, Williams has participated in select competitions, including mixed doubles events alongside Alcaraz.

Świątek ranks eighth amid tournament records

Iga Świątek secured eighth place in the global ranking with total earnings of $20.5 million over the past twelve months, collecting $5.5 million from tournament prize money and $15 million from off-court commercial agreements. The 25-year-old Polish athlete, who is supported by corporate sponsors including Coach, On, and Oral-B, won the WTA 1000 Canadian Open in Toronto in August 2026. That victory gave Świątek her 12th title in the WTA 1000 category since the tier was established in 2009, leaving her one tournament win away from matching Serena Williams' record.

Forbes analyzed the gap between Świątek and Williams across different competitive levels:

Świątek, a winner of six Grand Slam tournaments, including the 2022 US Open, still has a long way to go to equal the Open Era record held by Serena Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles. The 25-year-old Polish player is closing the gap at the WTA 1000 level.

Świątek holds a career record of 26 wins and 5 losses in WTA tournament finals, giving her the highest final-round winning percentage among all players with 20 or more finals appearances since 1990. She remains the only tennis player across both the men's and women's tours to reach at least the third round of every Grand Slam tournament held since the start of 2020.

Women secure a majority in the top ten

The combined earnings of the ten highest-paid tennis players reached approximately $333 million over the past twelve months. For the first time in the history of the Forbes list, female players formed the majority of the top ten, securing six positions compared to four for male players, as noted by tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg on X. Forbes editors compiled the financial data through conversations with sports industry insiders, taking into account tournament prizes, ATP bonuses, appearance fees, marketing partnerships, and equity holdings.

While all four Grand Slam tournaments have awarded identical prize payouts to male and female competitors for years, substantial pay discrepancies remain across smaller tour events. Men have also historically commanded greater access to high-value sponsorship agreements and commercial contracts.