“I like that people are starting to recognize that women do deserve equal pay and they deserve the same that a male gets,” Serena Williams said in 2022. Her own journey to equality was marked by a significant milestone in 2007 when she won an equal prize purse as her male counterpart, Roger Federer, at Wimbledon. Maria Sharapova, another vocal advocate for gender pay parity in tennis, consistently ranked among the highest-paid female athletes for 11 consecutive years. Rafael Nadal’s uncle Toni revealed shocking information about his nephew’s earnings.

Following Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement, his uncle and coach, Toni, sat down for an interview with Marca. There, Toni, who admitted to not having seen video of his nephew’s farewell, surprisingly confessed, “My nephew never thought about how much money he earned in tournaments.” Further opening up on the equality between men and women, he said, “Serena Williams and Sharapova earned more than Rafael and deserved it because they generated it.”

From watching Williams vs. Sharapova’s (20-2 H2H favoring the former) amazing rivalry to experiencing Iga Swiatek vs. Aryna Sabalenka’s (8-4 H2H favoring the former) thrilling clashes, women’s tennis has indeed been capturing fans’ attention for decades. But in terms of prize money, the picture is quite different.

As per Forbes, the former World No. 1, Maria Sharapova, with her five grand slam victories, indeed earned a huge sum of money ($285 million) throughout her career! Moreover, the 36 singles title winner, also helped other women enter the entrepreneurial world through her program. Besides, she also partnered with Nike for years, grabbed a $70 million deal with the brand in 2010 (for eight years).  And even after retiring in 2020, she continued her work in the business world through her ventures like Sugarpova, and Supergoop. Besides, she is also an important member of the Naked Retail and Bright brands, along with Moncler as well.

Similarly, as per Forbes, Serena Williams, the 23 Grand Slam champion, also earned around $95 million (in prize money) throughout her career. Not only that, taking account of her partnership with brands like Nike, Kraft Foods, and her own business ventures, Williams, who retired in 2022 after winning 73 singles titles, boasts an impressive $290 million as her net worth(as of 2023) as well! 

On the other hand, Rafael Nadal, who has one less grand slam than Williams, has earned approximately $135 million(per ATP Tour) in prize money in his 23-year long career and more than $400 million off the court from sponsors and appearance fees. Coming back to Toni, he also shed light on players who charge a lot of money in tennis!

Rafael Nadal’s uncle reveals his take on “those who charge the most” in tennis!

For Rafael Nadal’s uncle, sacrifice is not the right term to justify the compromise and hard work that a player does throughout the years. Instead, he believes, “If you do it for yourself, it is the price you have to pay.” Moreover, he also mentioned an example of his brother, who couldn’t continue to work for his dreams after two years of grinding in the tennis circuit due to financial problems. His perspective is clear: “Normally, those who charge the most are those who work the least.”

However, he also added, “In some players like Alcaraz, Sinner, Rafa or Federer it does not weigh because they already have a lot of income outside of tennis.” To him, Rafael Nadal is also an exception in this case, who doesn’t think about money while playing. Explaining it with an example, he confessed, “I remember that one year in Australia, he was paired with Tommy Robredo and wanted to retire. He said there was a lot of money, and Rafael retired.” 

Be it through Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, or the younger generation players like Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff, women’s tennis will continue to grow and mesmerize fans worldwide, just like men’s tennis!