Tennis Prize Money Tracker: Which Player Has Earned the Most in 2026?

· Yahoo Sports

Jannik Sinner ranks first in 2026 tennis tournament winnings with $6.72 million. The world No. 1 has won all five Masters 1000 tournaments this year, earning more than $1 million for each championship. Sinner is up to fifth all-time in ATP career prize money, with a total of $64.7 million, and will enter next week’s French Open on a 29-match win streak as he seeks the career Grand Slam in Paris.

Elena Rybakina has earned the most tennis prize money of any woman in the 2026 season. She pocketed $2.77 million for winning the Australian Open in Melbourne, and she also made the final at Indian Wells to boost her total earnings by another $565,000. Rybakina has made $28.6 million in prize money during her career and now has two major titles.

Carlos Alcaraz sits just ahead of Rybakina in year-to-date on-court winnings. The Spaniard also took home $2.77 million for winning the Australian Open; that amount was up 19% from the previous year’s winner’s purse, but still the smallest payout of the four majors. Just 23 years old, Alcaraz is already fourth all-time in ATP career prize money won, with a total of $65 million. However, he’ll miss the French Open and Wimbledon due to a wrist injury.

The next opportunity for players to earn big money will be the French Open, which will have a total purse of $72.1 million in 2026. The main draw begins this Sunday.

SourceSource

How does prize money work in tennis?

When tennis players participate in tournaments, they are compensated based on the round in which they lose, with payouts escalating somewhat exponentially as the player continues to win. A first-round loser at the 2025 Miami Open received $23,760, while the tournament runner-up won $598,000 and the champion $1.12 million.

Visit zeppelin.cool for more information.

More from Sportico.com

Singles draws generally pay out more money than doubles draws, but singles players also pad their earnings by participating in doubles at events that feature both formats.

The money at stake in different tournaments varies greatly. Throughout the year, there are 250-level, 500-level and 1000-level events; the number refers to how many ranking points winners receive. Tournaments with more points on the line generally pay more money.

Which tennis tournament has the highest prize money?

The four majors—the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open—award 2,000 ranking points. They also have larger purses.

For instance, the 2025 U.S. Open allocated $5 million to each singles winner, while the 2025 Winston-Salem Open, an ATP 250 event, dished out $109,640 to its champion the prior week. Many pros also compete on the Challenger Tour, where players typically take home low five figures for winning an event.

Although the ATP Finals and WTA Finals at the end of the calendar draw much less public attention than the majors, they are extremely lucrative for the exclusive group of eight participants. In fact, the $5.07 million that Sinner earned for winning the 2025 ATP Finals is nearly the total he made for winning the 2025 Australian Open ($2.15 million) and 2025 Wimbledon ($4.12 million) combined.

Source

Do men make more than women in tennis? 

Last year, 23 women and 30 men earned at least $2 million. The four majors have all paid both genders equally since 2007, but many marquee events in which men and women both play simultaneously still pay men far more. For instance, the Cincinnati Open paid out approximately $9.2 million to male players in 2025 and just $5.2 million to female players, while prize money disparities at lower-level tournaments are even worse.

In 2022, Iga Świątek was so dominant on the court that she nearly became the first woman to be the highest-paid tennis player in a single season since 2003, when Kim Clijsters ($4.47 million) out-earned Roger Federer ($4 million). In 2025, the gender pay gap at the top of the sport finally shrunk a little after having grown in recent years. The top 10 male players collectively earned $87.8 million in 2025 prior to bonus pool payouts, only 23% more than the $71.3 million earned by the top 10 female players.

Source

In the global professional sports landscape, tennis still offers the most earning potential for women, as seven of the 10 highest-paid female athletes in 2025 played tennis. Many tournaments have committed to offering equal pay in the future, but there is still much work to be done to close the gap overall.

Male tennis stars also benefit significantly from ATP bonus pools, which share additional profits with the game’s top players, with payouts are predicated on year-end ranking and participation in a certain number of 1000-level tournaments. The pool ballooned to roughly $21 million in 2023, where it has roughly remained for 2024 and 2025.

Which tennis player has the most prize money?

For both genders, tennis is dominated financially by the elites. Last year, Alcaraz earned more than five times that of the 10th highest-paid man, Rudd, and Sabalenka earned more than five times that of the 10th highest-paid woman, Elise Mertens.

The ATP Finals and WTA Finals both had purses exceeding $15 million last year. These tournaments only include the top eight players in the rankings, which contributes to the top-heavy prize money distribution in tennis. They are essentially “rich get richer” events to end the season.

Novak Djokovic has won a record 24 Grand Slams along with seven ATP Tour Finals, with inflation giving him an additional boost over players from previous generations. He holds three of the top 10 prize money seasons of all time and has a $58 million lead over Rafael Nadal for the most career winnings. Djokovic’s lifetime prize money totals $193 million.

SourceBest of Sportico.com

Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Read full story at source