The No. 1 spot for career prize money leaders could be none other than 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, who has the most earnings in history, with more than double that of her immediate pursuer—none other than her sister, Venus Williams.
Among the active players who are climbing to the top is the name of six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, the recent Wimbledon champion who is about to surpass the $40 million earnings mark. The Pole climbs to fourth place, in a top 10 with minimal differences that also includes Aryna Sabalenka in eighth place with “only” a $2 million difference.
At TennisUpToDate, we review the players with the highest on-court career earnings, where most of the top 10 are players who shone in the previous decade—several of them are still active, while others have practically finished their careers.
ATP Career Prize Money Leaders: Novak Djokovic reigns supreme, Zverev climbs to fifth, Alcaraz and Sinner crash the top-10
The gap between Serena and Venus is more than $50M
Serena Williams is indisputably the player with the highest career earnings, totaling more than $94 million in earnings, which places her by far as the highest-earning female athlete in history. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has 73 titles and reached 25 other finals. Her dominance in the majors accounts for a large part of her prize money, although she also won 23 WTA 1000 titles and five WTA Finals. She has more than double the prize money of the second-place player, her sister Venus Williams.
The older of the sisters is in second place with just over $42 million in earnings. She holds seven Grand Slam titles, in addition to reaching nine other finals, adding 271 wins in major main draws, and is still active at 45 years old, playing her last tournament at the DC Open. She is preparing to play the Cincinnati Open this week and has 49 titles, including nine WTA 1000 titles.