Roger Federer retires at the top of tennis' money tree

Roger Federer announced he will retire following next week’s Laver Cup after admitting his battles with a knee problem had forced him to call time on his historic tennis career.

“The Laver Cup next week in London will be my final ATP event,” Federer said in a statement on social media on Thursday.

“The last 24 years on tour have been an incredible adventure,” he wrote.

“While it sometimes feels like it went by in 24 hours, it has also been so deep and magical that it seems as if I have already lived a lifetime.”

He may have been beaten by his Big 3 rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in most metrics, with most Grand Slam titles chief among them, he remains unmatched financially.

The Swiss ace collected $131 million in prize money since turning professional in 1998, third in ATP Tour history behind Djokovic’s $159 million and Nadal’s $132 million.

It is off the court earnings that takes Federer to heights never seen in tennis. As per Forbes, Federer made roughly $1 billion (before taxes and agents’ fees) across his career just from endorsements and other business endeavours. He remained highest-paid tennis player for 17th straight year - despite not stepping on the court for 14 months.

In another list of highest-paid world athletes , Federer emerged seventh with $90.7 million. In 2020, he was the world’s highest-paid athlete with a total of $106.3 million.

The $1.1 billion career earnings (before taxes and agents’ fees) puts him in the Billionaire club alongside LeBron James, Floyd Mayweather, Lionel Messi, Phil Mickelson, Cristiano Ronaldo and Tiger Woods.

The Swiss legend had multiple marketing deals with many brands sticking by him through the course of his lengthy career. In 2018, he left Nike after an association of 24 years, which paid him roughly $150 million over the course of two decades. Other reports suggested $10 million a year covering a 10-year span. The new Uniqlo deal was worth $30 million a year or $300 million over 10 years.

This movement from Nike to Uniqlo did create an issue. Nike owned the ‘RF’ logo and brand which stayed with the company until late 2020. “It’s also something that was very important for me, for the fans really. Look, it’s the process. But the good news is that it will come with me at one point. They are my initials. They are mine. The good thing is it’s not theirs forever. In a short period of time, it will come to me,” he had said in 2018.

Read all the  Latest News ****,  Trending News ****,  Cricket News ****,  Bollywood News ****,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ****,  Twitter  and  Instagram ****.