Rafael Nadal has still never earned as much as two players in a single season

Rafael Nadal is undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players in history but still lags behind two of his rivals when it comes to raking in the most prize money in a single year. The Spaniard, who is currently working his way back from a long-term hip injury, has made no shortage of money since turning professional in 2001 and is up there with the sport’s highest earners

Nadal has received over £106million in prize money throughout his career, putting him second in the all-time standings behind only Novak Djokovic. However, he has still never earned as much as two players in a single season, with his most lucrative year coming in 2019.

The 37-year-old won titles at Roland Garros, the US Open, Italian Open and Canadian Open and was also a runner-up at the Australian Open. His trophy-laden campaign saw him scoop £12,921,077 in prize money, which is the most he has ever earned in a calendar year.

However, this figure is only good enough for third in the all-time leaderboard, with Djokovic topping the bill thanks to his incredibly successful year in 2015. The Serb picked up £16,707,674 for winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open as well as the ATP Finals, marking his best-ever season in tennis.

Andy Murray is also in front of Nadal due to his dream 2016 campaign, which he finished at the top of the ATP rankings for the first and only time in his career. He ended up receiving a total of £12,921,168 for the year, just £91 more than Nadal’s earnings in 2019.

It seems Nadal will never get the chance to beat Djokovic’s record-breaking season in 2015, given that he is expected to retire at the end of next year. He has tumbled down the rankings as a result of his injury absence and now sits outside the world’s top 600, having dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in over 17 years in March