Alcaraz Has Outearned Nadal at 22—Even Adjusting for Inflation

Carlos Alcaraz will forever be compared with Rafael Nadal, his idol and countryman. On Sunday, Alcaraz won his fifth Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros at 22 years, 1 month, and 3 days old—the same exact age as Nadal when he won his fifth major.

It’s a distinction that Alcaraz cares about, saying Sunday after his record-setting five-hour, 29-minute match with Jannik Sinner that it was “destiny” that he and Nadal achieved the feat at the same age. 

“It is a stat that I’m going to keep for me forever,” Alcaraz said.

The two-time French Open champion has never been shy to heap praise toward Nadal, even admitting that the Spanish icon is the reason he dreamed of playing professional tennis. But Alcaraz is on a much faster pace than Nadal in one metric: career earnings. 

Alcaraz secured a French Open–record $2.9 million, bringing his total career earnings to $44.7 million. He is already seventh all-time in career earnings per Spotrac, ahead of the legendary Pete Sampras, who won 14 major singles titles.

By the end of 2008, when Nadal was nearly 22 years and seven months old, he had secured $19.6 million. Inflation plays a factor when comparing career earnings, and Nadal’s number adjusted to inflation is about $30.7 million. 

Alcaraz has secured about $14 million more than Nadal’s inflation-adjusted earnings at this point, and that’s considering there are still two majors remaining in 2025. He will likely add to the current 45% gap.

While Alcaraz is on pace to pass Nadal, he is still a long way away from catching the 39-year-old’s career number. The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who retired in November after 23 years, secured $134.95 million and is second all-time in career earnings, wedged between the other two members of the Big Three: Novak Djokovic ($187.9 million) and Roger Federer ($130.6 million).

Ultimately, the career earnings say more about the growth of prize money in tennis than they do about the greatness of the two Spanish stars.

When Nadal won his fourth French Open title in 2008, the grand prize was €1 million, which was worth about $1.5 million at the time due to the U.S. financial crisis. (One euro is worth about $1.14 today.) But adjusted to inflation, that number is still just $2.29 million—about 79% of what Alcaraz won in the 2025 French Open.

Even on the women’s side, 2025 French Open winner Coco Gauff is closing in on the top 10 in career earnings with $27.1 million. The 21-year-old, who has won two Grand Slams, is only $15.5 million behind No. 2 Venus Williams, who won seven majors and has about two decades of pro experience.