ATP's Record Prize Money

[jimlosaltos]

Compiled by Oleg. S: "After some delay ATP did process bonus pool $$$ on its website and we now have the final 2023 prize money standings for ATP players. For the first time ever, 4 players passed $10M mark in a season; previously there were four seasons (2013,16,17,19) with 2 players earning $10M+."

Alcaraz earned the most bonus pool money with his $4.4 Million being great than the next two players, Medvedev and Sinner, combined. Djokovic got zero ( 0 ), because he didn't play enough large ATP events.

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[stotty]

It's an obscene amount of money for those at the top but fritters down pretty quickly thereafter. I wonder more what the players' expenses are during the course of a year. I assume they get all their equipment given but travel, food and accommodation can't be cheap. Then there are the coaches to pay and any other entourage. I wonder if the player pays all their expenses too? I would be curious to know the net profit after tax for players like Fokina and Norrie.

[jimlosaltos]

It's an obscene amount of money for those at the top but fritters down pretty quickly thereafter. I wonder more what the players' expenses are during the course of a year. I assume they get all their equipment given but travel, food and accommodation can't be cheap. Then there are the coaches to pay and any other entourage. I wonder if the player pays all their expenses too? I would be curious to know the net profit after tax for players like Fokina and Norrie.

Good question. Tennis players are a cross between gig workers like Uber drivers, and further up the food chain, small business owners with a traveling entourage.

Don't forget taxes. Many tournaments require payment of local income tax on prize money.

So many variables. First there is sponsor revenue, which for many top 50 players is a multiple of their prize money. And it's not linear. Coco Gauff is now the highest paid woman in sports -- after winning one major title. Great player, but she's making more than the two women ahead of her with more titles.

Then, there are business decisions. Diminutive American Michael Russell made a living on the tour for over 20 years -- without winning a single title, I believe, and never getting higher than 60th -- in part by going without a staff for a good portion of it.

But, for say Jannik Sinner, I guesstimate that he's got a high 7 figure budget for his support team of something like 8 people.

[stotty]

Good question. Tennis players are a cross between gig workers like Uber drivers, and further up the food chain, small business owners with a traveling entourage.

Don't forget taxes. Many tournaments require payment of local income tax on prize money.

So many variables. First there is sponsor revenue, which for many top 50 players is a multiple of their prize money. And it's not linear. Coco Gauff is now the highest paid woman in sports -- after winning one major title. Great player, but she's making more than the two women ahead of her with more titles.

Then, there are business decisions. Diminutive American Michael Russell made a living on the tour for over 20 years -- without winning a single title, I believe, and never getting higher than 60th -- in part by going without a staff for a good portion of it.

But, for say Jannik Sinner, I guesstimate that he's got a high 7 figure budget for his support team of something like 8 people.

Thanks that's really interesting. I guess there are a lot of unknowables and strange costs involved.

I know sometimes top players from small countries get sponsorship deals worth a lot of money, because they are national heroes, although perhaps not international heroes. Former British number 1's have always done quite well financially despite not having a high ATP ranking. Coming from a small country or one not renowned for producing tennis players can have its advantages.

[jimlosaltos]

Thanks that's really interesting. I guess there are a lot of unknowables and strange costs involved.

I know sometimes top players from small countries get sponsorship deals worth a lot of money, because they are national heroes, although perhaps not international heroes. Former British number 1's have always done quite well financially despite not having a high ATP ranking. Coming from a small country or one not renowned for producing tennis players can have its advantages.

Curious, but true.

Then, there are direct payments from governments for players from small or at least non-democratic countries. Can't recall specifics off hand, but the Tokyo Olympics saw six figure "rewards" for players that earned medals. I believe Serbia was offering not only an award but a life-time pension, which the young woman partnered with Djokovic in mixed doubles lost out on when he withdraw with a serious case of pouting after Pablo Carre?o Busta took him out for the second time that year.

The other outlier is having an entire country's tennis program financed by one Billionaire - like Kazakstan. He's putting so much money into Kazak tennis it is poaching players from far and wide - well from Russia, Ukraine, at least. Hold at least one Slam singles title.


NYT:
The Billionaire Trying to Turn Kazakhstan Into a Tennis Nation
Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/05/s...e=1.HE0.vYpx.H pye1v_dpzO8&smid=url-share

Kazakstan apparently even has a strong youth tennis program, apparently. I did not know this.

2023 marked another successful year for Kazakhstan's tennis players, with notable achievements from the juniors. For the first time in history, both the boys' and girls' national teams qualified for the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup world team championships for players under 16. And "Anna Danilina, the country's leading female doubles player, won the US Open mixed doubles title, giving Kazakhstan its first mixed doubles victory at the Grand Slam tournament."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kazakhstan-tennis-federation-celebrates-another-115100240.html