Roger Federer has kept himself pretty busy since hanging up his tennis racket, and some really smart money moves have made him a billionaire.
The Swiss legend won 20 Grand Slams and earned over $130 million in prize money during his career. That’s actually less than what Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal made on court – his two biggest rivals throughout the years.
But here’s the thing: most of Federer’s wealth didn’t come from tennis tournaments.
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His smooth playing style and calm personality made him incredibly marketable. Add in those good looks, and you’ve got one of the most sponsorship-friendly athletes in sports history.
Federer was the highest-paid player for 16 straight years during his career. That’s pretty incredible when you think about it.
Even as his dominance on court started fading years before his 2022 retirement, the endorsement deals kept coming. The 44-year-old knew how to leverage his brand better than almost anyone.
The real game-changer? His stake in On, the Swiss shoe company.
Federer became a significant minority shareholder in the publicly traded brand, which sponsors tons of athletes now. It’s exactly the kind of smart investment move that separates good earners from billionaires.
While Djokovic and Nadal are tennis legends in their own right, they earned less than half of what Federer made from endorsements and business deals during his playing days.
He’s not the only tennis billionaire though. Ion Tiriac, the former Romanian player, is worth an estimated $2.3 billion thanks to his business empire and owning the Madrid Open from 2009 to 2021.
Today’s Top Earners
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are leading the money race among current players. Over the past 12 months, the Spaniard pulled in $48.3 million compared to Sinner’s $47.3 million.
Alcaraz made $8 million more than Sinner in off-court activities, which shows his marketability is already pretty strong at just 21.
Coco Gauff came in third with $37.2 million, making her the highest-paid female athlete of 2024. Get this – $25 million of that came from endorsements and other off-court work.
That’s the power of personality in today’s sports world.
Djokovic landed at No. 4 despite playing way fewer tournaments than the younger guys. At 37, that makes sense. Still, he earned $29.7 million, with $25 million coming from sponsorships and business deals.
The women’s side tells an interesting story about tennis economics.
Aryna Sabalenka, Qinwen Zheng, and Iga Swiatek rounded out spots five through seven. Even though Sabalenka has been world No. 1 since October, her total earnings were barely half of what Alcaraz and Sinner made.
Swiatek has been pretty honest about the pay gap between men’s and women’s tennis. At the 2025 US Open, the Wimbledon champ said she’d like to see things change, but knows it’s not easy to fix overnight.
She also questioned how accurate these Forbes lists really are.
"Many of the contracts between players and brands are private," Swiatek pointed out. Makes you wonder how they get their numbers, doesn’t it?
The tennis money game keeps evolving, but Federer’s billion-dollar blueprint is pretty clear: play great tennis, build your brand, and invest wisely while you’re at the top.
