The extravagant lifestyles of the tennis elite

AFTER Rafael Nadal was spotted wearing a watch worth nearly $1m, we took a look at the spending habits of some of tennis’ biggest names.

Spain's tennis player Rafael Nadal poses before receiving the Vermeil Medal of the City of Paris on May 21, 2015 in Paris. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK KOVARIK

RAFAEL Nadal’s recent French Open match saw him sporting a ridiculously expensive Richard Mille watch, valued at almost $850,000.

The custom watch is made out of hardened titanium and carbon and is one of just 50 in existence.

Only a select few in the sporting world are able to indulge in pleasantries as extravagant as this, and it seems a large percentage of them play tennis.

We had a look at some of the richest and most elite men and women to step out onto the court, and were shocked at the amount of money these guys and gals throw around.

RAFAEL NADAL

Another one of Nike’s top athletes, Nadal ranks ninth on the Forbes Richest Athletes List, making him the second highest paid tennis player in the world. Nadal’s watch, worn during the French Open, is the latest in a long line of expensive Richard Mille time-tellers to feature during one of his matches. The first Nadal watch made by Mille was spotted during the 2010 season and was valued at around $525,000.

Nadal wearing his special edition Mille watch at this year’s French Open.

ANDY MURRAY

Arguably the UK’s best tennis product, Scottish-born Murray has been pinned as one of the most marketable athletes in Europe. Notorious for spending large amount of money on his overseas holidaying ventures, Murray quickly racked up a $4,000 bar tab on a night out after take out the title at Wimbledon last year. Pulling in some $22 million in endorsements, its no surprise Murray was able to open up his own $2 million hotel, Cromlix House, in 2014.

Andy Murray’s $2 million hotel, Cromlix House, in Dunblane, near Glasgow.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Recently signing with Peugeot and Seiko, the Monte Carlo resident took $21 million in sponsorships endorsements last year. In 2012, according to The Telegraph, Djokovic bought the entire annual production line of the world’s most expensive cheese for his restaurants. Made from donkey’s milk, the cheese is valued at over $1000 per kilo. He later denied the report. Djokovic directs a lot of his income to charity, donating his entire $750,000 winner’s cheque from last year’s Italian Open to flood relief in his native Serbia. Yes, that’s nearly as much as one of Nadal’s watches. These days, the new father is spending his money on essentials like prams.

MARIA SHARAPOVA

The highest paid female tennis player in the world, Sharapova owns her own line of confectionary. Sugarpova launched in 2012 and made approximately $6.5 million in its first year — not a bad addition to some $22 million per year in endorsements. Sharapova resides in her $4.1 million oceanview property in the Hill section of Manhattan Beach. At only 28 years of age, Sharapova owns a collection of houses, having bought her first in Longboat Key, Florida for $1.2 million when she was just 20.

Maria also loves her fashion and accessories.

Maria Sharapova had her eye on this.

SERENA WILLIAMS

With a stake in the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, Serena’s doing pretty well for herself. But despite career earnings of almost double that of rival Sharapova, at $56 million, Williams simply cannot match the Russian when it comes to endorsements. Regardless, Williams still boasts some of the biggest brands, with Nike, Wilson and Gatorade all securing her signature.

In her spare time, Williams likes to spoil her dog.

Serena likes buying clothing for her dog.

ROGER FEDERER

Earning over $40 million per year in endorsements alone, Federer is the highest paid tennis player in the world, and 7th ranked richest athlete overall. Not only is he successful on the court, his negotiating and business skills off it have helped him to secure many of his sponsorship deals over a 10-year period, a rarity in the sporting world. So with sponsors like Nike, Rolex and Credit Suisse, he’s not short of a dime.

In fact, he’s worth more than all of the stars on the tennis tour but he’s just not the type to talk about what he’s spending it on.