World's Highest Paid Tennis Players

Male and female sports person play typically for different sums of money in their respective sports. Here is a list of some of the highly paid tennis players in the world past 12 months. The amount includes prize money, endorsements, exhibitions & appearance fees over the past one year without taxes.

History's most successful tennis player Roger Federer leads the pack with as much as $43 million. The ace Swiss tennis player's dominance on the court helped him earn ten of the most lucrative sponsorship deals. The world's No. 2 ranked player deals include Nike, Rolex, Wilson, Gillette and Auto major Mercedes-Benz.

Second in the list is Russian glam girl Maria Sharapova. Sharapova may have lost her game over the past few years. But she is still the reigning champion when it comes to money. Her rich sponsors with Nike, Tiffany, and Prince, made her the second highest paid tennis player and female athlete in the world with $24.5 million over the 12 months. She has penned an eight year contract with Nike which is said be worth $70 million. She also has a sponsorship deal with Cole-Haan, a subsidiary of Nike.

Next in the pack is the current world's No. 1 ranked tennis player, Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard who overtook Federer this year on the court with some stunning performances is way down to Federer financially. His earning amounts to only half as that of his rival Federer's earnings. The top ranked player earned $21 million over the past 12 months. But his recent 10 year contract with Nike could fetch him $80 million. Nadal has also got Babolat, Kia Motor, and various Spanish companies as sponsors.

The next two positions were occupied by the Williams sisters. Women world's No. 1 ranked tennis player Serena Williams ranks No. 4 with $20 million and her elder sister Venus Williams stands good at No. 5 with $15 million over the past year. Venus has sponsorship deal with Puma, Reebok, Nike, and her own brand Eleven. She has recently inked a deal with Polo Ralph.