Shohei Ohtani is in the news for his huge contract. While Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz appear at the top of the annual tennis earnings lists, Japanese baseball sensation Ohtani signed an unprecedented $700 million contract with Major League Baseball franchise Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023. The 10-year deal pushed the Japanese pitcher to the pinnacle of the list of highest-paid athletes in the world.
Ohtani’s contract is the largest ever in baseball history, exceeding Mike Trout’s 12-year $426 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Spanning a whole decade, the record deal is evenly broken up, with the Dodgers man earning $70 million annually.
Though Ohtani’s is the largest overall contract in sports history, several athletes still out-earn the former yearly. Here is a look at what the biggest tennis stars on the planet earn, including Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, and how they compare to Ohtani.
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic topped the list of the 10 highest-paid tennis players, collectively earned $246 million in the last 12 months
The cumulative total of $246 million is well off the all-time record of $343 million in 2020 when the now-retired pair of Roger Federer and Serena Williams brought in a whopping $142 million between them. However, the $246 million is a significant increase from 2023’s $196 million, representing a 26 percent increase.
Furthermore, the average age of this year’s top 10 earners has reduced to 26, with only Djokovic and 6th-ranked Rafael Nadal outside their 20s. The list also has four women in it, a reminder that tennis is one of the few sports in which male and female athletes are on comparable financial standings, though not always earning the same prize money from tournaments.Since turning pro in 2003, Djokovic has gone on to win 24 Grand Slam titles and establish himself as the most successful male tennis player ever, capped with a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, which sealed his career Golden Slam.
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