Tennis, badminton, squash, padel, ping pong, pickleball… Which racket sports offer the highest earnings for professional and semi-professional players? I’ve investigated.

Tennis, the king of financial earnings

Unsurprisingly, tennis remains the most lucrative racket sport in the world. With huge prize money in Grand Slam tournaments, a player can pocket between €2 and €3 million for a win.
Even the world’s top 100 secure comfortable earnings, between €500,000 and several million per year, not including sponsorship deals.

Key figures:
– Novak Djokovic has surpassed $180 million in career prize money (excluding sponsorships)
– A top 50 player earns on average €1–3M/year
– A top 100 player earns about €300,000 – €800,000/year

Outside the ATP top 200, it is harder to make a living; sponsors become crucial.

Badminton: popular but less profitable

Although very popular in Asia—especially China, Indonesia and Malaysia—badminton offers more modest prize money.

The BWF World Tour tournaments offer between $50,000 – $1,500,000 in total prize money per event.

Top players (like Viktor Axelsen or An Se-young) can reach $500,000 – $1M/year, but earnings drop quickly outside the top 20.

Key figures:
– Winner of the All England: about $100,000
– Top 10 player: approximately $400,000 – $700,000/year
– Top 50 player: approximately $100,000 – $200,000/year

Again, outside the top 50, sponsors are necessary to make a living.

Padel: growing fast but still far behind

Padel, a booming sport, is attracting more and more sponsors and spectators.

However, prize money is still modest:
– Premier Padel (FIP): prize money ranges from €120,000 – €525,000 for the biggest tournaments (P1, Major)
– Winners of a Major earn about €50,000/player
– Top 10 players can accumulate €150,000 – €300,000/year from prize money and sponsors

For players outside the top 100, it’s still difficult to live from padel alone, but sponsors can make a difference.

Squash and table tennis: niche sports

Though technical and spectacular, squash and table tennis generate significantly less.
– PSA World Tour Squash: $50,000 – $300,000 prize money per tournament
– Top squash players (Ali Farag, Nour El Sherbini): approx $150,000 – $300,000/year
– ITTF Table Tennis: $30,000 – $500,000 prize money in major tournaments
– Top ping pong players (Fan Zhendong, Sun Yingsha): approx $100,000 – $400,000/year, with significant sponsorship in China

For semi-pro players, annual income is often below €50,000, supplemented with coaching, exhibitions or local leagues.

Pickleball: maybe one day?

Though still young internationally, pickleball is growing rapidly. Top professionals can expect to earn between $100,000 and $300,000/year, combining prize money, sponsorships, exhibitions and social media revenues. Circuits like the PPA Tour offer prize money that sometimes reaches tens of thousands of dollars per tournament.

It is possible to make a living from pickleball once a player enters the top 20 and has additional support.

In short, tennis dominates… but trends are evolving

Tennis far outpaces other racket sports in terms of earnings. Badminton follows at a distance, particularly in Asia. Padel, thanks to its worldwide expansion, could quickly close the gap. As for squash and table tennis, they offer great sporting recognition, but more limited incomes.