“It’s a great feeling. I was working really hard just to lift this trophy. It’s my second one, but it’s still a dream come true,” the 22-year-old Murcia, Spain, native could hardly stop smiling after defeating Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 at the 2025 US Open. Why wouldn’t he be elated? After all, Carlos Alcaraz had just trounced the Italian to bag his sixth Grand Slam triumph. But it was so much more than that!

Alcaraz’s win at the 2025 US Open didn’t just bring another trophy. But it also pushed him past a major financial milestone. The 22-year-old Spaniard arrived at Flushing Meadows with about $48.49 million in career prize money; his $5,000,000 winner’s cheque took him to roughly $53.49 million, making him the seventh player (men’s or women’s tour) to clear the $50m mark and the first player born in the 2000s to do so.

But where does that put him in comparison to tennis’ Big 3: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic? Let’s take a look!

Roger Federer: The maestro who became the first to attain the feat

Federer’s rise felt gradual at the very top but relentless in results. His first Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon 2003, where the 21-year-old beat Mark Philippoussis to lift his maiden major, thus beginning a two-decade run at the sport’s summit. In 2009, already a five-time US Open champion, Federer reached the final at Flushing Meadows once again. Though he lost the match to Juan Martin del Potro, the Swiss star still managed to cross the $50 million prize money milestone at the age of 28, making him the first player to do so. 

Why Federer’s $50M took longer than Carlos Alcaraz: Federer’s era featured smaller major pay cheques in the early 2000s than today’s tournaments offer. Endorsements and exhibition money were significant for him off-court, but tournament prize pools themselves grew meaningfully later in his career.

Rafael Nadal: The clay colossus, who soon followed in Federer’s footsteps

Rafa made a seismic entrance at Roland Garros. Nadal’s first major win came at the 2005 French Open, aged 19, when he captured the title in his tournament debut, the start of his unparalleled dominance on clay. Nadal entered the $50 million career prize money club at the age of 26 by winning the 2012 French Open, his seventh title at the tournament and his 11th Grand Slam win.

As with Federer, Nadal’s climb to the $50m club was spread over many seasons; he built his fortune through repeated Grand Slam success (especially Roland Garros) and a steady haul of Masters titles. While he took more time than Carlos Alcaraz to reach the club, considering the sparsity of tournaments and the lower prize moneys, Nadal's feat stands tall on its own.

Novak Djokovic: The late-blooming cash accumulator

The Serbian won his first Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open (beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final). And from there, his results and earnings accelerated sharply. Djokovic is now the all-time leader in career prize money on tour (well into the hundreds of millions), reflecting both longevity and recent large purses. 

Djokovic reached the $100 million prize money mark in 2016, at the age of 29, underscoring a major shift from the time of the other two of the Big 3, who were nearly the same age when they reached the $50 million milestone. Like Federer and Nadal, Djokovic’s era spanned a time when prize pools rose gradually; he reached major earning milestones across a long, peak career rather than in a few very short seasons in his 20s.

Carlos Alcaraz: Speed and scale in the modern game

Alcaraz turned pro in 2018 and exploded up the rankings; his first Grand Slam title came at the US Open 2022, and he added more majors quickly after that. The 2025 US Open winner’s cheque ($5,000,000) pushed his career prize total above $50m, to about $53.49m. 

Two structural reasons make Alcaraz’s run different:

1. Prize pools are much larger now. Grand Slams and big ATP events have increased purses substantially since the 2010s; that accelerates modern players’ path to big career totals. The ATP’s recent media materials and event reporting document rising prize-pool trends across the decade.
2. Carlos Alcaraz’s tournament density and immediate success. He won multiple big titles in the first half-decade of his pro career and has collected big cheques quickly.

Quick pace comparison

• Alcaraz: ~120 pro events to the $50M mark (under 6 years).
  
• Djokovic: ~190 events to $50M.
  
• Nadal: ~180 events.
  
• Federer: ~200 events.

Alcaraz’s $50m milestone is both a personal milestone and a symptom of a changed economics for tennis players: Bigger purses and a denser schedule for top young players mean the same dollar milestone that used to take a decade or more can now come in a few seasons.

Written by

Diptarko Paul

Edited by

Shrabana Sengupta