Djokovic, Nadal Or Federer: Who has earned the most prize money among the Big 3?
LONDON — Rafael Nadal took a small little leap forward in the GOAT debate as he won his 21st Grand Slam title, beating Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open 2022.
The Australian Open title came with brilliant prize money of $2 million, taking the Spaniard's overall earnings to $127 million.
But where does Nadal rank in terms of prize money earned in the entire career, in comparison to his rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer?
Leading the list is the ATP World No. 1 Djokovic. So far, in his career, the Serb has earned a total of $155 million as prize money.
Federer takes the second spot in the list, earning a little over $130 million in his career as prize money with Nadal being third.
Of the three, Federer has the best portfolio, combining endorsement deals.
The Swiss maestro earned more than $80 million last year even though he only played 13 matches.
It is because of Federer's $30 million-a-year pact with Uniqlo that the money keeps flowing.
As far as Nadal and Djokovic go, they haven't been able to top $30 million in a good year, including bonuses, which puts them a long way off from Federer's tally.
As per Sportico, Nadal has earned a total of $490 million if the earnings from sponsors, appearances and prize money are put together.
The biggest sponsor of the Spaniard is sports apparel brand Nike who pays him $10 million a year including bonuses.
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Medvedev, who was Nadal's opponent at the Australian Open final, ranks 17th in the list of earnings from prize money at $23 million, including his Australian Open winnings.
The Australian Open men's singles final was an epic contest, with Medvedev winning the first two sets before Nadal staged an epic comeback to win the next three.
Nadal, Djokovic and Federer have continued to rule the modern era in tennis, winning 61 Grand Slam titles together, starting from Federer's triumph at the 2003 Wimbledon.
In this duration, only 13 Grand Slam titles have been won by players other than one of the 'Big 3'.