Editor-in-Chief, Padel Earnings
March 23-29, 2026 · Miami, Florida
Both won the biggest tournament in Miami that week. Sinner earned in 7 days what padel's top players earn in an entire 4-year career. That is the reality of the padel-tennis prize money gap in 2026.
But here is the twist
Padel is always played in doubles. No singles. Compare a tennis doubles Grand Slam winner (approximately €120,000 per player) to that €47,250 padel Major payout, and the gap drops to 2.5x. At mid-tier events, padel P1 winners actually earn more than ATP 250 doubles winners.
The Miami comparison is not cherry-picked. It is the clearest snapshot of where professional padel stands relative to tennis in 2026. Both sports held their flagship events in the same city, the same week. Both winners are the undisputed #1 in their sport. The only difference: the size of the cheque.
But the headline number does not tell the whole story. Padel is a doubles-only sport. No singles, no exceptions. Compare padel to tennis doubles and the picture changes dramatically. At mid-tier events, padel already pays more. Here is the complete picture, with data drawn from our database tracking €27,200,000 distributed across 725 players and 79 tournaments.
Padel vs Tennis Prize Money: The Numbers
Singles, doubles, and padel — the fair comparison column is Tennis Doubles vs Padel.
| Category | Tennis Singles | Tennis Doubles | Padel | Doubles Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam / Major winner Per player. Tennis doubles at Australian Open 2026 approx. AUD $240K/pair. | €2,500,000+ | ~€120,000 | €47,250 | 2.5x |
ATP 250 / P1 winner Padel P1 winner actually earns MORE per player than ATP 250 doubles winner. | ~€90,000 | ~€15,000 | €25,500 | 0.6x |
Second-tier event winner P2 vs ATP Challenger / WTA 125. Padel again outpays equivalent doubles. | ~€40,000 | ~€8,000 | €15,000 | 0.5x |
Top annual earner Arturo Coello career avg ~€240K/year. Gemma Triay career avg ~€147K/year. | €19M+ (Sinner 2025) | ~€700,000 | €340,000+ | ~2x |
Total annual prize pool Premier Padel only launched in 2022. ATP Doubles been running 50+ years. | €250M+ (ATP) | ~€30M (ATP) | €27M (career pool, est. €12M/yr) | 2.5x |
Why Tennis Prize Money Is So Much Higher Than Padel
In tennis, a player can choose singles, doubles, or both. The prize money structures are separate and the top doubles specialists often earn a fraction of top singles players — yet nobody calls that unfair, because the formats are fundamentally different.
Padel has no singles format. It was designed as a doubles sport from its very first rules in the 1960s. So when someone says “a padel Major winner earns 50x less than a tennis Grand Slam champion,” they are comparing a tennis singles specialist's payout to a padel doubles team's payout split across two players. That is the wrong baseline.
The Surprising Reversal
At mid-tier level, padel already outpays tennis doubles.
The gap only opens up at the top. A Wimbledon doubles winner earns ~€120,000 per player. A padel Major winner earns €47,250. That 2.5x difference is real — but the narrative of “50x less money” simply is not.
What a Tournament Win Pays: Tennis vs Padel
Tennis figures are annual prize money (2025). Padel figures are career totals from our database — reflecting that Premier Padel only launched in 2022. The comparison is not about scale; it is about trajectory.
| Player | Sport | Nat. | Period | Prize Money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | Tennis — Men | ESP | 2025 annual | €19.8M | |
| Jannik Sinner | Tennis — Men | ITA | 2025 annual | €17.7M | |
| Novak Djokovic | Tennis — Men | SRB | 2025 annual | ~€5M | |
| Aryna Sabalenka | Tennis — Women | BLR | 2025 annual | €13.9M | |
| Coco Gauff | Tennis — Women | USA | 2025 annual | ~€7M | |
| Padel — career totals (Premier Padel since 2022) | |||||
| Arturo Coello | Padel — Men | ESP | career total | €1,222,701 | |
| Agustin Tapia | Padel — Men | ARG | career total | €1,222,701 | |
| Federico Chingotto | Padel — Men | ARG | career total | €872,413 | |
| Alejandro Galan | Padel — Men | ESP | career total | €866,241 | |
| Franco Stupaczuk | Padel — Men | ARG | career total | €517,478 | |
| Gemma Triay Pons | Padel — Women | ESP | career total | €746,310 | |
| Paula Josemaria Martin | Padel — Women | ESP | career total | €709,908 | |
| Ariana Sanchez Fallada | Padel — Women | ESP | career total | €696,408 | |
| Delfina Brea Senesi | Padel — Women | ARG | career total | €677,948 | |
| Beatriz Gonzalez Fernandez | Padel — Women | ESP | career total | €566,623 | |
ATP career data via Perfect Tennis. WTA data via RallyHer. Padel data live from padelearnings.com.
The Growth Story: From €4M to €27M in Four Years
Padel prize money has grown faster in percentage terms than any other professional racquet sport over the same period. Premier Padel launched in 2022 with a fraction of today's prize pools. Four years later, the numbers look very different.
For context: The WTA distributed a record $249M (~€230M) in 2025. The ATP distributed roughly the same. Total tennis prize money exceeds €500M per year — but it has been running for over 50 years. Padel has distributed ~€27M in just four years and is on a steep growth curve. At current trajectory, padel could match ATP Doubles total prize money (~€30M/year) within the next 2–3 years.
The Real Picture: Who Earns What in Padel
Our database tracks 725 players — 481 men, 244 women. The distribution is steep. A handful earn hundreds of thousands; most earn very little.
Consistent title contenders. Annual prize money €150K–€300K.
Regular podium finishes. Annual prize money €30K–€100K.
Achieved six-figure career earnings. These 70 players represent the top 10% of the 725-player field.
Half of all tracked men players have earned less than €1,485 in career prize money.
Half of all tracked women players have earned less than €2,066. Women earn proportionally more at median.
Primarily FIP-level competitors. Prize money alone does not cover tour costs for these players.
* Data sourced from Padel Earnings database. Career totals include Premier Padel and FIP-sanctioned events. Men: 481 players, avg €32,185, median €1,485. Women: 244 players, avg €48,037, median €2,066.
Where Padel Has the Edge Over Tennis
Equal Pay Since Day One
Premier Padel Majors offer equal prize money since 2022. At P1 and P2 level there is still a gap. Tennis equalised at all four Grand Slams in 2007 after decades of unequal pay.
Faster Growth Rate
Padel prize money grew roughly 6x in four years. ATP prize money growth has averaged 3-5% per year over the same period. Starting from a lower base means percentage gains are larger, but the direction is unmistakable.
Lower Barrier to Entry
A tennis singles player needs court time, a full-time coach, and travel budget for one. A padel team splits those costs between two partners. The operational cost of being a padel professional is structurally lower.
The bigger picture
Padel is not trying to replace tennis. It is building its own financial ecosystem from scratch — and doing so faster than any racquet sport before it. The question is not whether padel will ever pay as much as tennis singles. The better question is: at what point will the best padel players earn more per year than the best tennis doubles players? Based on current trajectories, that crossover could be closer than most people think.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a padel Major winner earn compared to a tennis Grand Slam winner?
Is padel prize money growing faster than tennis?
How much does the top padel player earn per year?
Does padel have equal pay for men and women?
Can a padel player earn more than a tennis doubles player?
When will padel prize money reach tennis levels?
How many padel players earn over €100,000 in career prize money?
What is the total prize money in padel vs tennis?
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