TheCable

Roger Federer, Swiss professional tennis player, is the world’s highest-paid athlete for 2020, according to the annual Forbes list released on Friday.

The 38-year-old tennis legend, who ranked fifth on last year’s list, overtook Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, two football stars, to take the number 1 spot — a feat that makes the Swiss the first player from his sport to top the list.

Federer’s $106.3 million earned from salaries and endorsements was $1.3 million higher than Ronaldo’s $105 million total in the last 12 months.

Messi ($104 million), Neymar ($95.5 million) and Lebron James ($88.2 million), US basketball player, rounded out the top five.

“The coronavirus pandemic triggered salary cuts for soccer stars Messi and Ronaldo, clearing the way for a tennis player to rank as the world’s highest-paid athlete for the first time,” said Kurt Badenhausen, senior editor at Forbes.

“Roger Federer is the perfect pitchman for companies, resulting in an unparalleled endorsement portfolio of blue-chip brands worth $100m a year for the tennis great.”

Here are Forbes’ top 10 highest-paid athletes for the last 12 months:

• Roger Federer (tennis): $106.3 million
• Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer): $105 million
• Lionel Messi (soccer): $104 million
• Neymar (soccer): $95.5 million
• LeBron James (basketball): $88.2 million
• Stephen Curry (basketball): $74.4 million
• Kevin Durant (basketball): $63.9 million
• Tiger Woods (golf): $62.3 million
• Kirk Cousins (football): $60.5 million
• Carson Wentz (football): $59.1 million

Last week, Naomi Osaka, Japanese tennis player, became the highest-earning female athlete ever.