Berlin (AP) - Roger Federer is the first tennis professional to top the list of the best-earning athletes of the US magazine "Forbes".
In the current ranking, the 38-year-old Swiss soccer superstar Lionel Messi replaced Argentina from last year's top spot, this time behind Portugal's striker Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi follows in third place ahead of the Brazilian Neymar.
The "Forbes" list is based on research by the magazine's editors and on estimates and is considered reliable. Prize money, salaries and bonus payments are included in the calculations. Forbes' 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner Federer’s earnings for the past twelve months were $ 106.3 million, of which only $ 6.3 million in prize money. For the 35-year-old Ronaldo, the magazine had an income of $ 105 million, for the 32-year-old Messi, it came to 104 million. Both should have lost wages due to the corona pandemic.
The four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel is again the German athlete with the highest income according to the list. "Forbes" leads the 32-year-old Hesse to 32nd place with 30.3 a year ago, with 36.3 million dollars.
It had recently become known that "Forbes" sees the former tennis world number one Naomi Osaka as the highest paid athlete. The 22-year-old from Japan ranks 29th in the overall ranking with calculated earnings of $ 37.4 million. Osaka had replaced her US colleague Serena Williams as the number one for women. The 38-year-old winner of 23 Grand Slam titles follows with 33 million dollars right behind Vettel in 33rd place.
List on the homepage of "Forbes"
Federer's profile on the ATP homepage