Novak Djokovic is preparing to return to action at the Indian Wells Masters and he may be on course to crash through a remarkable prize money barrier if he continues his fine form at the start of 2026.
Djokovic stunned the tennis world when he beat world No 2 Jannik Sinner at last month’s Australian Open, with the 38-year-old proving he is still a real threat to the best players in the world despite his advancing years.
Now Djokovic is set to play at the Indian Wells Masters, where he lost in his first match against Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp last year.
He will then move on to the Miami Open, where he enjoyed a run to the final of last year’s tournament, losing against Jakub Mensic.
Those wins added to the staggering prize money total Djokovic has collected across his record breaking career, with his current total standing at $192,688,360.
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In total, Djokovic won $5,127,247 in prize money, despite only playing a limited schedule last year, with the $1,435,985 he won from his run to the final of the Australian Open last month bolstering his prize money mountain.
Djokovic may need to win a Grand Slam title to crash through the $200million barrier this year and he may need to achieve that this year and as this could be his final season in the sport, he may be in a race against time to get to that total.
It is unlikely that he is focused on the race to $200million, as prize money has not been a priority for Djokovic for many years.
During a wide-ranging interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored last November, Djokovic was asked: “How much are you worth now? Do you know? Approximately. Give me a ballpark.”
The 24-time Grand Slam winner replied: “I don’t like to talk about it, Pierce. I don’t like it. I’m north of one million (smiling).”
Morgan then asked to guess: “Well, I reckon you’re probably if I was a guessing man, I’d say at least three to 400 million.”
Djokovic: “Maybe. Maybe more. We live in a very materialistic society nowadays. I’m just saying I’m not like that. I don’t like … you know my team and my agent you know we don’t want to give all the information to Forbes for example, how much I’m worth or what the investments are, you know it’s none of their business.
“Why should I disclose that? For what reason? There are things that are disclosed with price money obviously that people know about or contracts, but the other things, no [I won’t disclose that].
“Money is very important and it does bring security, no doubt about it, and it is absolutely you know, one of the driving forces of the society of today. You cannot neglect the importance of money.
“But if money is the only thing you’re thinking about … I mean at least in my case and in my experience obviously I’m an athlete so for me it’s kind of a meritocracy model. If I win a tennis match or win a tournament I get rewarded. I get sponsorship deals etc.
“But also you know it’s it’s a lot about the mentality, it’s a lot about the brand that you want to create around yourself.
“I have, and again I don’t like to talk about this too much, but I did refuse a lot of the big brands and big paychecks in my career because I cannot represent something that I don’t believe in. I feel like I’ve always tried to play a long game.”
Djokovic’s wealth has been boosted by huge sponsorship deals with brands like ASICS, Lacoste, Hublot (watches), Waterdrop (hydration), Aman Resorts and Qatar Airways, with his final prize money total likely to be threatened by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner over the course of the next decade.
Alcaraz and Sinner are a long way behind Djokovic for now, but rising prize money at top tier events will allow them to rise up the cash ladder quickly if they continue to dominate at the top of the men’s game.
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