Carlos Alcaraz has eclipsed Iga Swiatek to become the top prize money earner in the first half of the 2024 season
Carlos Alcaraz has eclipsed Iga Swiatek to become the top prize money earner in the first half of the 2024 season, thanks to his colossal payday after winning Wimbledon.
Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic for the second consecutive year to lift the Gentlemen’s Singles title at the All England Club. It was one of the season’s most anticipated matchups, but the Spaniard was superior in every department over an opponent who hardly found his footing. It was the first time that Alcraz had won a Grand Slam final in straight sets. He dropped just ten games and overcame a late wobble of spurning three championship points. He also maintained his unbeaten record in major finals (4-0).
He has passed fellow rivals World No. 1 Jannik Sinner (who previously topped the list) and German star Alexander Zverev. None of them advanced beyond the quarterfinal stage. Jannik Sinner earned £375,000 (about $485,010) after falling to Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinal, while Zverev, who suffered a shock defeat to Taylor Fritz in the fourth round, made £226,000 (about $292,299).
With this victory, Alcaraz now stands tall as the highest earner (prize money) across the ATP and WTA tours this season. His current pay does not include off-court earnings, which is another list he has topped in the last 12 months.
This year, Wimbledon organizers committed a record-breaking prize money package amounting to £50,000,000. Alcaraz earned a whopping £2,700,000 (about $3,492,072) for winning the tournament. This is an increase of almost 15% from last year’s paycheck when he also defeated Djokovic in the final.
Before this month, Alcaraz’s prize money for the season stood at $4,552,477. He ranked third in the ATP list of highest earners. With the tennis season past the halfway stage, Alcaraz has boosted his total on-court earnings to an estimated $8,044,540 (inclusive of Wimbledon prize money).
Moreover, Alcaraz has also surpassed WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek as the top earner across both tours. The Pole was beaten in the third-round stage at SW19 by Yulia Putintseva, and that only accounted for £143,000 ($184950) in prize money.
Swiatek’s total prize money after Wimbledon is $6,826,749, which is considerably less than Alcaraz’s purse.
