Just after beating Australian Li Tu (6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, in 2h 42m) and thus making it to the second round of the US Open, Carlos Alcaraz heads to his bench and the image collects a good handful of millions: he opens his racket bag (Babolat), wraps himself in his jacket (Nike) and puts on a gold watch (Rolex) before chatting with Nick Kyrgios. He talks about the latest vein of the racket. “I love playing like this, in straps. Probably to intimidate the opponent, or at least that’s what I try to do… [risas]. I’m glad you like it,” she says to the Australian, aware that her image has skyrocketed. The magazine reflects this Forbes in its latest report on tennis players’ income, which indicates that the 21-year-old from Murcia, a magnet for commercial brands, was the player (male or female) who earned the most in the latest report prepared by the publication.
Specifically, Alcaraz received 42.3 million dollars (about 38 euros) and heads a table in which Novak Djokovic, 37, is now second with 37.2 million (33.4 euros). The Spaniard and the Serbian are fighting on and off the court. The former won the last two Wimbledon finals and the Balkan did so in the final of the Olympic Games; in the economic aspect, now it is the one from El Palmar who is gaining ground thanks to sponsorships of all kinds: from sports to others related to cars (BMW), fashion (Louis Vuitton), food (El Pozo), sun creams (Isdin), tourism (Region of Murcia) or banking (Itaú), among other branches. Behind all the strategy is his agent, the Catalan Albert Molina, an employee of the multinational IMG and who has advised the tennis player since he was 12 years old.
Since then, Alcaraz has been on the trail, and his earnings from last season are broken down into 10.3 million dollars (9.2 euros) from his on-court achievements and 32 (28.7) from marketing. His competitive impact is of the utmost importance – he is the youngest number one in history and already has four major titles – but his contractual impact is even greater. The talent, youth and freshness that he possesses inspire new audiences and potential consumers, at the same level as Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did in their day, or currently the Japanese Naomi Osaka, who has lost sporting effervescence but maintains her power of attraction from an advertising point of view.
Despite having disappeared from the limelight, the Asian is eighth in the latest list (13.1 million euros), behind the American Coco Gauff (third, with 24.3) and the number one, the Polish Iga Swiatek (fourth with 24). They, Alcaraz and the Italian Jannik Sinner (fifth with 23.9) are the new goldmines after a period in which Federer and Serena absorbed the highest earnings. The Swiss, retired since 2022, received around 80 million euros per year. The Murcian is far behind, but with a growing market value and becoming a real draw.
Million-dollar exhibitions are gaining ground in tennis and all of them aim to have him, at the rate of a check of between one and two million. He participated in one with Nadal in March, in Las Vegas, and in October he will attend another organized in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) together with Djokovic, Nadal, Sinner, Medvedev and Rune. Apart from this, Netflix – through the production company Morena Films – is following in his footsteps to produce a docuseries that will be released in 2025, in which it delves into the origins and projection of an athlete at the forefront of the latest generation of extraordinary players. After a golden era, tennis was searching for another media star and has found an asset that fills the courts, that triumphs – 31.4 million derived from the victories recorded in the four years on the circuit, specifies the ATP – and that attracts the media spotlight for its proposal, transgressive in quality and daring.
It’s not just the end, but how Alcaraz gets there. Against the traditional patina of suffering that surrounds tennis success, the Murcian stands out smiling and exploring a different path; no hardships, but positivity and abundant enjoyment in the midst of the harshness of the elite. Experts in marketing They greatly appreciate this profile and the data offered by Forbes They confirm the new dimension of a boy who interacts closely and who continues to add zeros to his bank account. According to the magazine, no player, male or female, had come so close financially to Federer, Serena, Djokovic, Osaka or Nadal – now sixth, with 20.9 million – as the current number three in the world, who next morning (3.00, Movistar+) will cross paths with the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (28 years old and 74th) in the second round. A guaranteed spectacle.
BADOSA BREAKS HER NEW YORK BARRIER
AC | New York
On a very hot Wednesday, with the sun damaging and even more stifling in combination with the humidity, Paula Badosa finally managed to break a barrier that had been resisting her in her former home. The Catalan, 26 years old and born in New York, had never managed to reach the third round of the tournament, so the victory against Taylor Townsend (6-3 and 7-5, in 1h 40m) guides her to a new position.
“Finally. I know it’s only a third round, but I wanted to get it here too,” she said after a neat performance against the 28-year-old American, ranked 48th in the world. On Friday she will face Romanian Elena Gabriela Ruse, superior against all odds to Czech Barbora Krejcikova (6-4 and 7-5); she will do so knowing that she is very close to re-entering the top 20 of the circuit, virtually as the 23rd.
She is the main asset in the women’s draw, which this Thursday will feature the presence of Sara Sorribes —against the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, at around 7:00 p.m., Movistar+— and Jessica Bouzas —at the same time against the English Katie Boulter—.
You can follow Morning Express Sports onFacebook andXor sign up here to receiveour weekly newsletter.
