Forbes, a renowned American magazine, recently released their 2024 edition of the 50 highest-paid athletes in the world. However, shockingly enough, no tennis player made it to the top 50.
Usually, the magazine would feature the big three of tennis: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. However, this time, none of them made it to the list, much to the dismay of tennis fans. The list was filled with NBA players or football players. Even the golf stars took the stage, as a few made it to the 50.
Novak Djokovic (Via Imago)
It’s quite a shocking list, given that Djokovic won three Grand Slams last year. In addition, the Serbian also won the ATP finals and finished the year as World No. 1. Even though his 2024 started on an unpleasant note, it doesn’t take away from the fact that there were no tennis players on the list.
It was mainly because of the cutoff for entry into the Forbes Top 50, which was 45.2 million dollars, which is a 20% hike from 2022’s record. Djokovic had only 38.4 million dollars last year and Alcaraz was far below with 31.4 million dollars.
Last year, the Swiss pro made it to the top 50, but it was a step down for tennis this year with no player crossing the mark.
No WTA tennis player made it to the Top 50 of the highest-paid athletes for the year
Tennis is usually known as a rich sport for its high-paying tournament wins. However, it has been a while since the women of tennis have gotten their names in the magazine.
As long as Serena Williams was there, she had made the list many times, and so did Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka.
This time, there are no women on the list, and it is probably due to the increase in the popularity of men’s sports like the NBA and the NFL.
Talking about tennis, Iga Swiatek is the highest-paid woman in tennis, but not enough to even make it to the top 50. An unfortunate record for tennis, as the players would hope to get back on the list.
