Introduction

Martina Hingis is a Swiss former professional tennis player with an estimated net worth of $25 Million.

Although she retired in 2007, she has intermittently returned to the professional circuit to continue dominating the game.

Before Wealth & Fame

Growing up, Martina’s parents divorced when she was six years old. She and her mother left Czechoslovakia in 1987 and emigrated to Switzerland when she was seven years old. Since her parents were tennis players, Martina began playing the sport at a young age, entering her first tournament at the age of four.

In 1993, Hingis became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam junior title at the Girls’ Singles French Open.

Tennis Career 

Martina Hingis made her WTA debut in 1994 at the Zurich Open and was ranked No. 87 in the world by the end of the year. She continued to find success in 1996, when she became the youngest grand slam champion of all time, winning the Wimbledon doubles with Helena Sukova.

In the same year, Hingis also won her first professional singles title in Filderstadt, Germany, and became the World No. 1 women’s tennis player in 1997. Hingis then became the youngest Grand Slam Singles winner at the Australian Open when she was just 16, before defeating Venus Williams at the US Open.

In 1998, Hingis won all four Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, becoming only the fourth woman in tennis history to do so. During this season, she also became the third woman to hold the No. 1 ranking in both doubles and singles simultaneously. Hingis won her third consecutive Australian Open with partner Anna Kournikova. She then reached the French Open final but lost to Steffi Graf in the second set.

In 2001, Hingis played with Roger Federer for Switzerland, which allowed the team to win the Hopman Cup. While she continued to play well, in 2003, she announced her first retirement due to injuries and pain that prevented her from performing at her best.

However, she did return in 2005, but she wouldn’t win another Grand Slam until 2015, when she won the Wimbledon doubles title and the US Open doubles title. Hingis won her fifth Australian Open doubles title in 2016 and her third US Open doubles title in 2017 before officially retiring for the final time.

Prize Money

According to the official WTA website, Martina Hingis earned approximately $24.75 million in prize money during her professional tennis career. She currently ranks as the 17th highest-earning female player from winnings alone. We went ahead and calculated Martina’s annual winnings, along with some of her most notable tournament earnings, thanks to data from the Women’s Tennis Association.

Early Career Winnings

In perhaps one of the fastest starts to a career we’ve ever seen while researching tennis players, by the second year of her career, Martina Hingis was already earning seven figures annually. For her first year as a professional, in 1995, Hingis earned approximately $186,567. This was also the year that she became the youngest player ever to win a match at a Grand Slam event. One year later, she earned roughly $1.33 million in prize money, signaling her arrival in the sport. She reached the semi-finals of the US Open, which likely contributed significantly to the $1.33 million.

Peak Annual Prize Money

In 1997, her winnings skyrocketed to $3.4 million, thanks to winning three of the four major Grand Slam tournaments. That year, her highest paydays from tournaments included:

• US Open (1st) – $650,000
• Wimbledon (1st) – $596,106
• Australian Open (1st) – $428,126
• French Open (2nd) – $336,651

While $3.4 million was a lot of money in 1997, this would not be the highest-earning year of Hingis’ career. For the next couple of years, she won $2.76 million and $2.94 million in prize money, which brings us to the year 2000. Despite not winning any major Grand Slam events that year, she placed high in most of them, with a runner-up finish at the Australian Open and a semifinal finish at the French Open. However, her biggest earnings for the year were due to other tournament wins, such as the Miami Open, for which she received $350,000. She also earned $166,000 for winning the Toray Pan Pacific Open and $166,000 for winning the Canadian Open.

Late Career Prize Money

In the 2000s, Martina’s annual winnings began to decline, reaching $1.77 million in 2001 and $1.47 million in 2002. She also took several breaks from the sport and was never able to regain her previous form. As an active player, her earnings dropped as low as $20,604 in 2013. However, she concluded her career on a strong note, earning $1.51 million in prize money for her final year in competition.

Endorsements

During the 90s, Hingis was sponsored by Sergio Tacchini, but after suffering a foot injury, she sued the company for defective shoes, earning an undisclosed amount of money from a settlement. From 1999 to 2008, Hingis was sponsored by Adidas for an undisclosed amount.

Personal Life

Martina Hingis married Thibault Hutin, a French equestrian show jumper, in 2010; however, by 2013, the pair had separated and ultimately divorced. In 2018, Hingis married Harald Leemann, a sports physician, and together they have a daughter, Lia, who was born in 2019.

Hingis isn’t just talented on the tennis court; she is also multilingual, speaking Swiss German, German, English, French, and Czech fluently.

How Does Martina Hingis Spend Her Money?

Martina Hingis may be one of the richest tennis players in the world, but she prefers to live a relatively simple and low-profile lifestyle. While she could easily afford a sprawling mansion, she instead lives in a relatively unassuming home on Lake Zurich in Switzerland.

However, while her home may not exude luxury, she has invested a significant amount of money in one of her greatest passions: equestrian sports. Since stepping away from tennis, Martina has built her own small horse stable in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland, where six stalls house the horses she enters in regional jumping competitions.

Although we don’t know how much she has spent on all of her horses, they can be incredibly costly. A single horse can cost upwards of $6,000 per year to keep. That also does not include the cost of purchase, which, depending on the type of horse, can range from thousands to millions.

Summary 

Martina Hingis is considered one of the greatest female tennis players of all time. Thanks to her skills on the court, she has earned a fortune. Although she first retired in 2007, she still sporadically returns to the court to prove that she still has what it takes to be the world’s number one.

Introduction

Mary Pierce is a Canadian retired professional tennis player with an estimated net worth of $14 Million.

Quick Facts

• Earned approximately $9.79 million in prize money during her career
• Peak annual winnings of $2.13 million in 2005

Early Life 

Mary Caroline Pierce was born January 15, 1975, in Montreal, Canada, to Yannick Adjaj and Jim Pierce. Her mother is French, and her father is American, which qualifies her for citizenship in France, the United States, and Canada.

Growing up, Mary was raised in the United States and started playing tennis at the age of 10. She became the youngest American player to make her professional tour debut at the age of 14.

Tennis Career 

Mary Pierce won her first WTA Tour singles title in 1991, and two years later, she filed a restraining order against her father for verbal abuse against her and her opponents.

In 1994, Mary reached her first Grand Slam singles final at the French Open, and the following year won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open. While the next couple of years saw a number of setbacks, in 1997, she returned to the Australian Open, but was defeated by Martina Hingis in straight sets.

Pierce managed to win her second Grand Slam doubles title in 2000 at the French Open, where she became the first French woman to claim the title since 1967. Four years later, Pierce defeated Maria Sharapova at the US Open but lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round.

In 2006, her first tournament was the Australian Open, but she lost quickly in the second round and, due to injuries, was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon and the French Open. Although she made a recovery, she was unable to find victory at the US, Luxembourg, or Zurich Opens, despite playing well at the beginning of each tournament. Pierce suffered a torn knee ligament in 2006, and while she was forced to miss the rest of the season, she stated she wasn’t ready to retire.

Despite her determination to continue, she never played another match but did make an appearance at the 2007 French Open, where an avenue was named in her honor. While she never played again, she did become one of only three women, including Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic, to win both the championship and the wooden spoon at a Grand Slam tournament.

Prize Money

Mary Pierce earned enough during her career to be considered one of the world’s wealthiest tennis players, and this ranking she retains today. According to the official WTA website, Pierce earned a total of $9.79 million in prize money during her career. We’ve researched her winnings for individual years to understand how Mary’s earnings progressed throughout her career. Unfortunately, we were unable to confirm exact figures for four years (1992-1995), but we know that Pierce earned roughly $3 million during this period.

Early Career Winnings

Between 1989 and 1991, the three years prior, Mary Pierce began her career with modest winnings of just $8,000, which increased to $91,653 by 1991. In 1995, we know that Pierce won in the ballpark of $680,000 that year, primarily thanks to her $299,196 payday for winning the Australian Open. Her earnings dropped to $195,570 the following year, but bounced back to the $650,000 level from 1997 to 1998. 

Highest-Earning Years

During the remainder of Pierce’s career, from 2000 through 2006, her annual winnings fluctuated quite significantly, typically ranging between $80,000 and $300,000 for five of the seven years. However, two years stand out in particular: 2000 and 2005. In the former, she earned approximately $1.21 million from prize money, of which almost 50% ($579,000) was gained from winning the 2000 French Open. She also won the Family Circle Cup that year, which contributed an additional $166,000 to her winnings.

On the other hand, 2005 is the highest-earning year of Mary Pierce’s career, according to prize money records. She earned approximately $2.13 million from tournaments that year, including three paydays in the ballpark of half a million dollars. Pierce’s most lucrative tournaments in 2005 were as follows:

1. US Open (1st) – $501,849
2. WTA Finals (2nd) – $500,000
3. French Open (2nd) – $497,813
4. Ladies Kremlin Cup (1st) – $189,000
5. Acura Classic (1st) – $189,000

Personal Life

Mary Pierce was briefly engaged to Roberto Alomar in 1999 and later to Air France pilot Emmanuel Ades, but ultimately broke off both engagements. Although Mary had a difficult relationship with her father, the pair did reconcile shortly before she retired, an event she attributes to her conversion to Christianity.

Awards & Achievements

Here are some of Mary Pierce’s greatest career achievements:

• Pierce won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 1995.
• In 1997, Pierce won the Comeback Player of the Year Award.
• Pierce won four titles in 1998: the Paris Indoor event, the Kremlin Cup, the Luxembourg Open, and the Amelia Island Championships.
• In 2000, Pierce won her second Grand Slam singles title at the French Open.
• Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (2019)

How Does Mary Pierce Spend Her Money?

Since stepping away from the court, Mary Pierce has set up shop not in an expensive city but on the small island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. She now enjoys living an unassuming life on the island but doesn’t flaunt her wealth.

There are no mentions of her having an extraordinarily lavish house, and instead, it appears she dedicates much of her time to the Black River church in her local community. However, she still remains active in tennis, coaching her siblings, Emmanuelle and Amaury de Beer, whom she hopes will make it onto ITF satellite tours.

Aside from this, we know that she often goes boating with her friends on the turquoise waters surrounding Mauritius, though there is no info on whether she rents or owns her boat.

Summary 

Mary Pierce is a highly accomplished former professional tennis player who has earned millions for her talents on the court. Although she retired in 2007, she remains active in the sport as a coach and member of the ITF Tennis Board of Directors.

Introduction

Martina Navratilova is a Czech-American former professional tennis player with an estimated net worth of $25 Million.

Navratilova dominated women’s tennis during the 70s and 80s. Although she retired in 2006, Navratilova has continued to grow her wealth through her authorship and activism.

Early Life 

Her mother was an accomplished tennis player, gymnast, and ski instructor who moved with Martina to the Revnice district in Prague after Martina’s father, Mirek, divorced her.

Growing up, Martina’s first tennis coach was her stepfather, Miroslav Navratil, who started teaching her the game when she was seven. At the age of 15, in 1972, Martina won the Czechoslovakian national tennis championship and made her debut in the US Lawn Tennis Association the following year. Martina won her first professional singles title in 1974 in Orlando, Florida, but didn’t officially start her professional career until 1975.

Tennis Career 

Martina Navratilova began her professional career strongly, finishing as the runner-up at two major singles tournaments in 1975. She then teamed with Chris Evert to win the French Open women’s doubles title.

In 1978, Navratilova won her first major singles title at Wimbledon, defeating Chris Evert to take the No. 1 ranking. The following year, she would defeat Evert again at Wimbledon to win the championship for the second time. Navratilova would lose against Tracy Austin at the US Open in 1981 but win the Australian Open the same year.

In 1982, she won her third major singles title at Wimbledon, defeating Evert, before losing to her at the Australian Open. She then embarked on a remarkable winning streak in 1983, which lasted until 1984, during which she won two more Wimbledon titles, her first two US Open titles, and the Australian and French Opens, each for a second consecutive time.

In total, Navratilova won nine Wimbledon titles, the Australian Open titles, four US Open titles, and two French Open titles before her retirement. Additionally, by winning the 1983 US Open, Navratilova became the seventh woman in history to achieve a career Grand Slam, a milestone that involves winning all four major championships in a calendar year.

Prize Money & Additional Income

According to the official WTA website, Martina Navratilova earned approximately $21.63 million in prize money during her career. However, upon conducting the annual calculations, we found only winnings amounting to $20.65 million. Thus, there are likely earnings from several tournaments that haven’t been listed on the WTA website.

In 1973, her first year of professional competition, she earned just $6,100. Navratilova’s annual winnings increased gradually throughout the decade, earning $35,480 in 1974, $179,243 in 1975, and reaching $747,548 by 1979.

Peak Career Winnings

Many regarded the period between 1982 and 1986 as the peak of Martina Navratilova’s tennis career. Up until this point, she had earned approximately $3.47 million in prize money. 1982 was the first year that she took home seven figures in winnings, earning roughly $1.48 million. In 1984, she reached a career-high of $2.17 million, thanks to winning three of the four major Grand Slam tournaments (French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open). During the peak of her career, Martina typically earned between $1.3 million and $2.2 million in annual prize money. 

Additional Prize Money

After 1986, Navratilova’s annual winnings began to decline, but she still achieved several years of roughly $1.3 million in prize money between 1988 and 1990. Her final year of professional competition, which was 1994, earned her approximately $620,000.

Off-Court Income Sources

• Martina has released several books, including a women’s tennis guide, an autobiography, two self-help books, and three mystery novels.
• Navratilova has also appeared on a few TV shows, including Portlandia, The Politician, and Dancing with the Stars.
• In 2014, Martina also worked as a tennis coach for Agnieszka Radwanska.
• During her tennis career, Navratilova also benefited from million-dollar endorsements with Yonex rackets, Avia sports shoes, and Thorio athletic socks.

Real Estate

In 2015, Martina Navratilova offered fans the chance to live a life of luxury in her Miami Beach home for $7,900 per month. Jumping into the role of landlord, Navratilova put her house up for rent, and while the price was high, the home is worth it. Sporting waterfront views of Biscayne Bay, this single-family home has four bedrooms, an open-concept living area, a backyard pool, and easy access to the beach.

Navratilova is no stranger to living in Florida, having previously sold another house in Nokomis for $2.5 million. This previous home is situated on the western edge of Florida and comes with 3,966 sqft, four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and views of Sarasota Bay. Outside, there is even a heated pool, a private garden, and a private dock with two boat lifts.

In addition to these houses, Navratilova has also been linked to a property in Carbondale, Colorado; however, little information about this home has been made available to the public.

Personal Life

Shortly after becoming a U.S. citizen, Navratilova gave an interview to the New York Daily News in 1981, coming out as bisexual and revealing her past relationship with Rita Mae Brown, an American feminist writer. While she requested the interview not be published until she was ready to come out publicly, the newspaper published it anyway, the same year.

From 1984 to 1991, Navratilova was in a long-term relationship with Judy Nelson, an American romance author, while Nelson was still married with two children. After their split, Nelson filed a palimony lawsuit against Martina that was later settled.

In 2014, Navratilova married Julia Lemigova, a former Miss USSR winner, after proposing to her at the US Open. Since leaving tennis, Martina has become an outspoken activist for gay rights, animal rights, and underprivileged children.

Awards & Achievements

Here are some of the greatest awards Martina Navratilova has earned:

• Martina Navratilova was named the International Tennis Federation’s World Champion numerous times: in 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1986.
• Navratilova was also named the Women’s Tennis Association Player of the Year in 1978 and 1979, and consecutively five times from 1982 to 1986.
• The International Tennis Hall of Fame inducted Navratilova in 2000.
• In 2003, Navratilova received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Navratilova was presented with the Czech Sports Legend Award in 2006.

Summary 

Martina Navratilova is one of the best women’s tennis players to ever step onto the court, and she has left a lasting legacy in the sport for future generations to aspire to. While she has since retired from the game, she continues to build her wealth as an activist and author.