Carlos Alcaraz‘s massive win at Roland Garros added a new chapter to the history books. Along with earning his first clay court major title, the Spaniard also received a massive paycheck of $2.6M. However, despite a huge jackpot, the recently released table of the top earners in 2024 revealed a shocking reality, revealing prize money disparity.

Polish tennis sensation Iga Swiatek was placed at the top spot with a massive $6.68 million in prize money. Although it was a pay-off to her remarkable efforts, this achievement placed the Polish sensation ahead of ATP stars like Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and Carlos Alcaraz. Billie Jean King’s efforts, and the hundreds of WTA players after her, finally coming to fruition?

Swiatek’s impressive earnings majorly constitute the paychecks she received at events she claimed titles in – Madrid, Rome, and the French Open back-to-back, all of which gave notable contributions to her prize money total. As journalist Lev Akabas highlighted, “No woman has been the highest-paid tennis player in a single season since 2003, when Kim Clijsters ($4.47M) out-earned Roger Federer ($4M)”

Alcaraz and Swiatek now stand at “ninth all-time in WTA and ATP prize money won, respectively, each with totals of $31 million and change,” per Akabas. And yet, the disparity in men and women’s sports is clear.

While all four Grand Slam tournaments have moved towards equal pay, other competitions still have evident differences between ATP and WTA prize pools. Taking a look at the 2024 Italian Open, the total prize money for the ATP was around $8.48 million, a 2.22% increase from the previous year. In contrast, the WTA’s total prize pool was only about $5.51 million.

This gap clearly shows the challenges faced by female athletes in the sport. While many notable figures, like BJK and Serena Williams. dedicated their lives to fulfilling the mission of equal pay, some tournaments are not rpogressing with the tide of time. With Iga Swiatek’s massive number, it was not just a win for herself or her nation but for the whole WTA community.

Meanwhile, the runner up at the French Open still has surprises in store.

Alexander Zverev stuns Grand Slam champions with his surprising number

The prize money tables unveiled multiple surprises. While it was Iga Swaitek who emerged on the top of the list in the overall comparison, Alexander Zverev shocked his competitors with big digits. The German recently faced a defeat against Carlos Alcaraz and therefore missed the second chance to earn his maiden grand slam title.

According to the latest tally, the German has touched a massive number of $43,181,394 on his prize money account. Despite having no grand slam titles in his portfolio, he stood above the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz who pack a total of four major titles.

As the numbers suggested, it is clear that there are different parameters to measure the success of tennis stars. While securing grand slam titles is indeed a matter of glory, having a huge paycheck points at a consistent performance throughout.