Due to his impressive career, Alexander Zverev only trails four other players in the history of the ATP Tour in terms of prize money won.
Zverev has performed admirably on the ATP Tour this year. Accordingly, he is presently ranked second in the world, surpassing both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. But he also has a huge ranking point deficit against world number one Jannik Sinner.
The German’s accomplishments include two ATP Finals, six Masters-1000 titles, an Olympic gold medal, and 22 titles in total. At just 27 years old, he still has plenty of time to add to his accomplishments.
Zverev lost the French Open final this year as well as the US Open final in 2020, hence he hasn’t achieved a Grand Slam. Before he won a major title, many already regarded him as the greatest ATP player in history.
Former world No. 1 Justine Henin recently provided a scathing evaluation of Zverev. She claimed that the gold medallist from the Olympics is a letdown due to his defensive style of play and that an aggressive approach would allow him to accomplish much more.
Some are more optimistic about Zverev’s prospects going forward. While Stefanos Tsitsipas appears to be heading in the wrong direction, John Isner and Sam Querrey believe Zverev still has a chance to win a major championship.
Although Zverev’s failure to complete a Grand Slam is disappointing, he still merits recognition for his significant accomplishments. The list of ATP prize money winners reflects the magnitude of his accomplishments.
Zverev comes in fifth on the list of prize money. Pete Sampras, the 14-time Grand Slam champion, has fallen one spot behind him, while Daniil Medvedev, the German’s regular on-court opponent, is now ranked eighth.
The only players ahead of Zverev are the so-called “Big 4” members: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray, who dominated the sport for several years.
Murray, who has earned almost $64 million, comes in fourth. Even while Zverev is currently far behind the Briton with his over $45 million total, he can catch up to him before the end of his career.
It’s much harder to catch up to the other three players, though. Federer and Nadal both made over $130 million and nearly $135 million, respectively, but Novak Djokovic is comfortably in the lead with an astounding $184,480,269 in career earnings.
Carlos Alcaraz, who is only 21 years old, is already ranked ninth on the list. With almost $35 million in earnings to date, the four-time Grand Slam champion is a potential future threat to Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.