More, even more: Top tennis players want fair payouts. How much do they earn
19 March 12:56
The Association of Professional Tennis Players, co-founded by Novak Djokovic and several other famous tennis players, has filed lawsuits in New York federal court against tennis governing organizations. Bloomberg writes about it, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
The defendants in the court will be the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which is engaged in combating doping and corruption in tennis.
In a press release from the Association of Professional Tennis Players, these organizations are called a “cartel” of tennis governing bodies and are accused of creating a “corrupt, illegal and abusive system” in tennis.
The plaintiffs claim that it is a conspiracy to reduce competition, which allows the cartel to pay “artificially low compensation” to players and keep potential competitors out of the market.
What else do top tennis players not like?
The lawsuit notes that, unlike other professional sports that pay players half of their gross revenue, tennis has a share of less than 20%, despite the growing popularity of the sport among fans.
As an example, it is mentioned that the $10 million earned by the best tennis player in 2022, Carlos Alcaraz, corresponded to the earnings of the 202nd player in the National Football League and the 146th in the National Basketball League.
It is also pointed out that the gap in earnings between the best tennis players, who can earn millions, and low-ranked players is the largest among all major professional sports.
In addition, the complaint states that off-court, tennis governing bodies restrict sponsorship and endorsement deals, in part by forcing players to give up certain name, image and likeness rights as a condition of participation in ATP and WTA tournaments. According to the lawsuit, they also control the number of sponsors that can be displayed on players’ T-shirts, hats, towels and bags, as well as the size of any advertising.
For example, a player will not be able to agree to carry a racquet bag with a Louis Vuitton or Gucci logo, as these brands are not ATP or WTA-approved tennis equipment manufacturers.
What did the ATP and WTA say?
Both the ATP and the WTA, of course, disagreed with the accusations.
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) recalled record prize pools and newly expanded bonus funds that contributed to a significant increase in player compensation (by $70 million over the past five years). And the ATP’s basic program has introduced a minimum guaranteed income for the top 250 singles players, which has provided unprecedented financial security in professional tennis.
The ATP also believes that the introduction of annual independent audits has provided players with full transparency on the financial performance of tournaments under the auspices of the Association.
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) also mentioned a new governance model that allowed the association to make significant progress in favor of players, and as an example recalled its commitment to increase player compensation by $400 million.
How much do top tennis players earn?
Leading tennis players in the 2024 season earned with prize money and bonuses:
1. Janick Siner (Italy) – $19 735 703
2. Alexander Zverev (Germany) – 11 501 623
3. Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) – 10 358 429
4. Taylor Fritz (USA) – 8 250 064
5. Danilo Medvedev (Russia) – 6,519,660
6. Casper Ruud (Norway) – 5 744 515
7. Andrei Rublev (Russia) – 5,589,848
8. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) – 4,421,915
9. Alex de Minor (Australia) – 4 352 277
10. Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) – $4,293,441.
According to WTA data for 2024, Arina Sobolenko received the largest amount of prize money – $9,729,260. Coco Goff is the second with $9,353,847. World number two Iga Szwiątek received $8,550,693 in prize money in 2024.
Among Ukrainian women, Marta Kostiuk has the largest prize money – $1,794,937, of which $154,000 was for doubles matches. Diana Yastremska is the second among Ukrainian women with a total of $1,471,425. The third is Elina Svitolina ($1,437,638).
By the way, the ranking of the 100 highest paid athletes in the world for 2024, published by the analytical platform Sportico, includes only two tennis players – Janick Siner at 43rd place and Carlos Alcaraz at 87th. Footballers, basketball players, and golfers are ahead.
