Have you also wondered how much padel pros earn? Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll go through everything you need to know about the prize money and salaries of the best players in the world.
Contents of this article
Padel pros earn money according to their ranking in competitions
Although the really good padel players can earn a good amount of money from big sponsorship contracts, their own padel products, etc., it is prize money in various tournaments that make up the bulk of their income. We’re used to seeing what the footballers, basketball stars, and tennis stars pull in as soon as they show up, but is it the same amount for the padel elite?
Players also earn money from sponsors and their own products
It is important to take into account that the really good players have many sponsors, mainly from sports equipment manufacturers. Many of them even have their own products such as a racket with their name on it, shoes, or bags. Of course, they make money from all this, but as these sponsorship deals are very individual, we won’t go into them here.
In order to get a better idea of the money that can actually be made in the sport of padel, we thought we would take a closer look at what the best players can get into their bank accounts when they do well at the big tournaments, both at home and internationally.
World Padel Tour prize money
The World Padel Tour, the world’s biggest and best padel tournament, is not surprisingly the tournament with the biggest prize money.
If we include various seasonal bonuses, there is a total of almost 3 million euros (2.95 million to be exact) waiting to go into the pockets of padel pros at the WPT. So how much does winning a tournament earn you, you may ask?
Let’s take an example – the World Padel Tour Masters Final 2019. The total prize pool of the tournament was 155,000 euros. Note that the matches are played in doubles, which means that the prize money will be split equally between the two players of the team.
We start with the men’s side, total prize pool 110.000 euros:
- The teams that did not make it to the quarter-finals received 2,200 euros.
- The teams that lost their quarter-final received 7,425 euros.
- The teams that lost their semi-final received 11.550 euros.
- The finalists received 22,000 euros and the champion team 33,000 euros.
Then we take the women’s side as a comparison, total prize money 45,000 euros:
- The teams that failed to make it to the quarter-finals received 900 euros.
- The teams that lost their quarter-final received 3,037.50 euros.
- The teams that lost their semi-final received 5.725 euros.
- The finalists received 9,000 euros and the champion team 13,500 euros.
As we can see, within padel, there is a very big difference in how much money is distributed on the women’s side and the men’s side, which is not free from debate.
At the end of the WPT season, a bonus is awarded to the top 100 men’s players in the rankings and the top 56 women’s players. The total bonus amounted to 642,000 euros.
The prize money that the tournaments have to offer comes mainly from sponsors and depends on many different factors. The more spectators that will watch the matches on-site and how many people pay to watch the broadcast of the matches is crucial for a tournament’s prize pool.
Swedish Padel Tour prize money
Thanks to the ever-growing interest in padel in Sweden, this year the Swedish Padel Tour is able to offer higher prize money than ever before.
We look at one example – the SPT’s record-breaking tournament to date in Örebro 2021. On the SPT, the prize money is the same on both the men’s and women’s sides, and the breakdown looked like this:
- 4th place 5 000 :-
- 3rd place 10 000 :-
- 2nd place: 15 000 :-
- Winners: 30 000 :-
In Sweden, we are still far behind the most profitable tournaments around the world, but what is extremely positive is the rapid development – not only in terms of money but also the quality of the Swedish top players. The more interest there is – both in terms of audiences and TV rights – the better the sport will become.
Which padel players make the most money?
While we’re on the subject of the money to be made in the padel elite, it’s only fair that we take a closer look at how much different players at the top of the world actually earn! Note that in this article we only mention prize money earned through their placements at the WPT until the end of September 2021 – no sponsorship contracts, advertising money, etc are included here.
| World Pader Tour (WPT) player | Prize money |
| Juan Lebron | €62 688,00 |
| Alejandro Galán | €62 688,00 |
| Carlos Daniel Gutiérrez | €48 233,00 |
| Franscisco “Paquito” Navarro | €54 343,00 |
| Fernando Belasteguin | €47 043,00 |
| Gemma Triay | €31 317,00 |
| Alejandra Salazar Bengoechea | €31 317,00 |
| Ariana Sanchez Fallada | €25 780,00 |
| Lucia Sainz Pelegri | €16 941,00 |
| Paula Josemaria Martin | €25 327,00 |
| Patricia Llaguno Zielinsk | €15 171,00 |
Juan Lebron salary & prize money
Who better to start with than the Spanish number one on the WPT rankings, Juan Lebron. In 2021, he won 33 out of 41 matches. He won four tournaments, was a finalist in one, four times in the semifinals, twice in the quarterfinals, and once in the round of 16.
His total prize money amounted to 62,668.07 euros.
Alejandro Galán salary & prize money
It is only logical to continue with Juan Lebrón’s teammate, the also Spaniard Alejandro Galán. He naturally shares the top spot in the world rankings with his colleague, as they have exactly the same match results. In 2021, he won 33 out of 41 matches. He won four tournaments, was a finalist in one, four times in the semi-finals, twice in the quarter-finals, and once in the round of 16.
Galán’s total prize money also amounted to 62,668.07 euros.
Carlos Daniel Gutiérrez salary & prize money
Argentine Carlos Daniel Gutiérrez is fifth in the WPT rankings. His stats for 2021 say that he has won 25 out of 34 matches. He has won 3 tournaments and been a finalist 1 time. Furthermore, he has been a semifinalist 2 times, in the quarterfinals 3 times, in the round of 16 2 times, and in the round of 16 1 time.
Gutiérrez’s total prize money during the year amounted to 48.233,76 euros.
Francisco "Paquito" Navarro salary & prize money
Next on the list is another Spaniard, world champion Paquito Navarro. In 2021, he won no less than 31 of his 42 matches. He won one tournament and was a finalist three times. Apart from that, he had 4 very meritorious semi-final places, two quarter-finals, and two eighths.
His total prize money amounted to 54,343.91 euros during the year.
Fernando Belasteguin salary & prize money
Padel legend Belasteguín is next on the list. In 2021, the Argentine won 24 of his 32 matches played. These led to three tournament wins and 1 final place. In addition, we also find two semi-finals, three quarter-finals, and one round of 16.
Fernando’s total prize money amounted to 47,043.06 euros.
Gemma Triay salary & prize money
The women’s side of course starts with Spanish women’s titlist Gemma Triay, who in 2021 won 37 of her 44 matches played. She topped the podium at no less than five tournaments and was a finalist twice. In addition, she reached the quarter-finals twice and two eighth-place finishes.
Her total prize pool reached up to 31,317.30 euros.
Alejandra Salazar Bengoechea salary & prize money
The second lady, Gemma Triay’s teammate, is the next girl on the list. Alejandra Salazar is also from Spain, one of the countries that have long dominated the sport of padel. They played all their matches together, which means their statistics are identical: winning 37 out of 44 matches played. They both topped the podium at no less than five tournaments and were finalists twice. Not only that, but she also reached the quarter-finals twice and two eighth-place finishes.
A total prize pool of 31,317.30 euros was the result of the season.
Ariana Sanchez Fallada salary & prize money
Another Spaniard follows on the list. Ariana Sánchez is third in the WPT rankings after a good year with 33 wins out of a possible 40, four tournament victories, and three times a finalist. A semi-final, two quarter-finals, and an eighth complete the match results.
The prize money in her account ended at 25,780.65 euros.
Lucia Sainz Pelegri salary & prize money
Spaniard Lucia Sainz is ranked fifth in WTP’s ranking of the top women’s players. For her, 2021 ended with 24 wins out of a possible 36. She failed to win any tournaments this year but was a finalist twice. She was also a semifinalist five times, a quarterfinalist four times, and in the round of 16 once.
Total prize money for Lucia: 16.941,75 euros.
Paula Josemaria Martin salary & prize money
Paula Josemaria Martin is – no surprise here – another very good Spanish player who finished the season at number 4 in the rankings. The results that got her there were four tournament wins, three finals, one semi-final, two quarter-finals, and one round of 16.
Paula’s annual score was 25,327.05 euros.
Patricia Llaguno Zielinsk salary & prize money
We finish with Spaniard Patricia Llaguno, ranked sixth on the WPT. In 2021, she won 29 out of 40 matches, one tournament, and was a finalist twice. The season was completed with two semi-finals, a whopping six quarter-finals, and one round of 16.
The prize pool for Patricia was 15,171.45 euros.
Generally speaking, the best players earn 5-8 million
Now that we’ve had a little insight into padel and its prize money, you might actually be a little surprised at how little the top players actually earn, especially when compared to other sports such as tennis, golf, or ice hockey where the elite earn incredible amounts.
What we have to keep in mind is that padel, in comparison to the other sports we have just mentioned, is a relatively new sport that is still expanding around the world. For the prize money to reach the level of tennis, the interest and sponsorship must also reach the same heights. When the TV channels start broadcasting padel tournaments as they are now broadcasting the US Open in tennis, for example, the conditions will be very different.
The top players at the WPT earned around $6 million in prize money in 2021, and if we add advertising and sponsorship contracts, we can expect them to reach around $8 million. However, most indications are that these sums will grow significantly in the coming years, as more and more multinational companies get their eyes on the sport and want to be seen at the tournaments.
Men earn three times more than women
One of the big disputes raging in padel at the moment is the huge difference in prize money between the men’s and women’s classes – the men earn a staggering three times more during tournaments than the women do.
In a sport as young as padel, this naturally attracts attention, and it’s hard to give any reasonable explanation as to why it looks like this. Something that is a bit special in padel is that people buy day passes for tournaments, and not for women’s or men’s matches. Therefore, no one can say that the attendance for the women would be less.
In tennis, the prize money has been the same in both categories for several years, and hopefully, this will soon be the case in padel tennis. The Swedish Padel Federation is a good example as the prize money at the SPT is the same in both categories.
Casino companies' heavy investments in padel sponsorships
In recent years, online casino companies have been investing heavily in sports sponsorships to increase brand recognition and attract new customers. From football and basketball to tennis and golf, casino companies are sponsoring a wide range of sports events and teams.
One of the sports that has been gaining popularity among casino companies for sponsorships is padel, a racket sport that originated in Mexico and is played in doubles on a smaller court than tennis. Padel has been growing in popularity in countries like Spain, Argentina, and Mexico, and has started to gain traction in other countries like the UK, France, and the USA.
Casino companies like Betway, Betfair, and Casumo have all sponsored padel events in recent years, including the World Padel Tour, the Padel Pro Tour, and the Monte-Carlo Padel Master. These sponsorships have helped to increase the visibility of both the sport and the casino brands, as well as attract new fans and customers.
The investments in padel sponsorships have also helped to support the growth of the sport, with funding going towards improving infrastructure, increasing prize money, and expanding the number of tournaments and players.
Overall, the trend of casino companies sponsoring sports like padel is expected to continue, as it provides a mutually beneficial partnership for both the sport and the brands involved.
FAQ - Frequently asked questions about what padel pros earn
How much money is at stake on the World Padel Tour (WPT)?
How is the prize money distributed for men in a WPT event?
Total prispott €110.000
Lagen som inte lyckades ta sig till kvartsfinal vann €2.200
Lagen som förlorade sin kvartsfinal vann €7.425
Lagen som förlorade sin semifinal vann €11.550
Finalisterna vann €22.000 euros och mästarlaget €33.000
Do men or women earn more as padel professionals?
Photos: pictures borrowed from Worldpadeltour.com
