Jannik Sinner prevailed in his first Wimbledon final to stop Carlos Alcaraz from claiming a three-peat in SW19, and in doing so scooped the most lucrative Grand Slam on the tour. However, less than favourable tax rates in the UK means it is, in fact, not the highest Grand Slam prize money after tax.
Do Tennis Players Get Taxed On Their Winnings?
Tennis, particularly at an elite level, has some of the highest levels of remuneration in sport.
Organisers across major events have also sought to level the playing field across the entirety of the tennis pyramid, spreading out a larger share to those who crash out in earlier rounds.
But for those clinching major ATP and WTA silverware on a regular basis, multi-million prize money purses can be scooped every season.
This does, however, beg the question, do tennis players get taxed on their winnings?
In short, yes. However, the rate at which they are taxed on prize money differs, depending on where the tournament is.
For example, recently-crowned Wimbeldon champion, Jannik Sinner, collected a cool £3 million for sweeping aside Carlos Alcaraz. However, the UK’s high tax rates for those in the top bracket means around 47% of that will be heading to HMRC.
It is for this exact reason that half of the top 30 ATP players have their main home residence registered in tax-free countries.
Monte Carlo in Monaco is a popular tax-free haven for tennis players, with the likes of Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune all residents in the municipality.
Therefore, Sinner can expect to pay no additional income tax outside of the UK, so he can at least enjoy a larger slice of his Wimbledon prize money than most.
While organisers continued to expand the prize money year-on-year, the cost of Wimbledon for fans has crept up this year too, with strawberries and cream jumping for the first time since 2010.
Grand Slam Prize Money After Tax
With Wimbledon also facing the squeeze of HMRC’s lofty tax rates for high earners, it is worth unpicking how other Grand Slam events compare.
Wimbledon winners suffer from the highest taxation of any of the Slams, thanks to the UK’s 47 percent tax rate for anyone earning £125,140 per year. It does, however, offer the most prize money of any of the four majors, meaning champions Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek both took home £1,650,000 each.
However, by taking a look at the table below, analysis reveals the US Open offers the largest Grand Slam prize money after tax, thanks to a favourable 37 percent rate in the United States.
Tennis Tournaments With the Highest Prize Money After Tax
Prestige and legacy doesn’t necessarily translate to the most money, however.
The ATP and WTA Finals at the end of each season offer the chance for the top eight ranked players to compete for one final prize.
The ATP Finals offer £3.63m in prize money, while the top players in the women’s tour compete for £3.56m.
It is interesting to note that the WTA Finals have been hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, since last year, with the current deal running through to 2026.
Saudi Arabia’s generous tax-free laws mean that last season’s champion, Coco Gauff, collected the entirety of her £3.56m paycheck.
As for the men’s, for which Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are the early favourites as per tennis betting sites, it still remains the top prize in male tennis at just over £2 million, even with a 43% tax rate in Italy, where the tournament is held for the last time this year.
While there are indeed other prestigious tournaments in tax-free regions, such at the Dubai tournaments for both women and men, as well as the Monte Carlo Masters on the ATP Tour, neither of them command the level of renumeration that the Finals do.
