Carlos Alcaraz finishes 2022 season as highest earner with over $15 million

Carlos Alcaraz, the top-ranked player in the world, has concluded a transformative year by surpassing all other ATP players in terms of earnings this year. The 19-year-old won more than $15 million this season, surpassing fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal ($14 million) and 21-time grand slam singles champion Novak Djokovic ($14.8 million). Alcaraz created history at the 2022 US Open, becoming the first male teen to win a major championship since Rafael Nadal and becoming the youngest world number one in ATP rankings history, shattering the previous record of Australian Lleyton Hewitt.

Alcaraz became the first player since big-serving American Andy Roddick in 2003 to hold the year-end ranking other than Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray by finishing the year as the world’s top player. Alcaraz, who finished the 2021 season as the world’s No. 32, experienced an extraordinary ascent in the rankings. Since Americans Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in 1996, Nadal and Alcaraz are the first countrymen to finish in the top two positions. Nadal finished the year as the second-ranked player in the world.

Djokovic held the top spot in the world for 20 weeks during this season, but he missed several events because he chose not to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. His victory at Wimbledon was also not recognised by the rankings because the All-England Club prohibited Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing there due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, according to a statement from the ATP and WTA.

Alcaraz, the current world number one, has many opportunities to increase his point total in 2023 despite the fact that his best finishes at the Australian Open and Wimbledon were appearances in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.