From boxing and golf to esports: The massive prize pots on offer for solo sports stars
It’s common knowledge that high-level sport is a lucrative business, and it’s even more profitable when you’re at the top of your game in a solo discipline.
Going it alone at the highest level comes with unique challenges, the most obvious one being there’s nobody else to help you if you’re not performing under extreme pressure.
But for those who succeed, it also means you can earn a lot more prize money, with fewer people taking a cut of the winnings.
This week, the World Snooker Championship returns to the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, with the winner set to pocket a cool £500,000.
It’s a life-changing amount for most, but it barely scratches the surface when it comes to the money on offer in some other individual sports.
The highest prize pots generally are available to men, but we’ll compare the numbers in the women’s equivalents too.
In tennis, a much more globally watched sport than snooker, the four Grand Slams on offer to men in the singles game come with prize pots in the millions.
Italian Jannik Sinner was awarded £1.6m for winning the Australian Open in January, while in 2024, the winners of Roland Garros (£2m), the US Open (£2.6m) and Wimbledon (£2.7m) all earned huge cheques.
Tennis is also the best place for women to earn the big bucks in solo sport. In 2024, Forbes’ list of the ten highest paid female athletes included seven tennis players.
At the top of that list was Coco Gauff, who won the biggest pay cheque ever given in women’s tennis when she took home $4.8m (£3.7m) for winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November.
In golf, the winner of the Masters in its inaugural edition back in 1934 won $1,500 – around $36,000 in today’s money. It’s fair to say that prize pot has gone up a bit since then, with Rory McIlroy’s win at Augusta this month earning him $4.2m (£3.1m).
Even after McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond, took his 10% cut worth $420,000 (£314,000), he still earned a handsome sum.
But the Masters doesn’t even hand out the biggest prize of golf’s four majors. That honour goes to the US Open, with last year’s winner, American Bryson DeChambeau, taking home $4.3m (£3.2m).
In the women’s game, Jeeno Thitikul won the largest prize in professional women’s golf history with her victory at the 2024 LPGA Tour Championship in Florida, claiming $4m (£3m) after firing a seven-under 65 in the final round.
The real big bucks are dished out in boxing, where instead of competitions, there are ever-more lucrative fights staged year-on-year. What’s more, both fighters get paid regardless of who ends up on the canvas.
Promoters in each camp usually come to an agreement on how much each side will receive for a top championship fight. Normally, the champion is entitled to a larger split of any revenue.
Reports vary, but Oleksandr Usyk is believed to have earned around 60% of a £140m prize pot when he beat Tyson Fury in December last year, leaving him with between £80m-£85m.
Like in boxing and golf, there is better gender parity when it comes to pay at the biggest events in boxing too.
Boxers won’t take all the prize pot home themselves, though. Depending on where the fight is held, there will be various taxes to pay and a manager and a promoter who need paying.
Wages for a fighter’s trainers and cut men also come out of the prize pot, plus any other expenses incurred during preparation. These outgoings could total as much as 50% of a fighter’s earnings.
In women’s boxing, bigger purses are becoming more frequent, though don’t match the size of the cheques cut for the men on the biggest stages.
Ireland’s Katie Taylor was said to have banked just over $6m (£4.8m) for her rematch with Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano last year, reportedly the biggest payout in women’s boxing history.
In darts, Luke Littler became one of the wealthiest teenagers in the UK when he lifted his first World Championship title in January. The then 17-year-old pocketed £500,000 for his win against Michael van Gerwen.
Still, he could bank even more if he wins the same title again next year. The 2026 champion will receive £1m, doubling the amount Littler won at the start of the year.
With professional darts being a gender-neutral sport, the same prize money is available for women. Fallon Sherrock earned the same amount as James Wade when both players reached the third round of the World Championship in 2019.
In the gruelling Tour de France, the oldest and most prestigious race in cycling, the winner of last year’s yellow jersey took home €500,000 (£430,000).
The Tour de France Femme has a prize fund of €250,000 (£213,000), making it the richest race in women’s cycling.
In the world of esports, one of the biggest prize pots ever handed out was during the Fortnite World Cup Finals in 2019.
US-based gamer Bugha, real name Kyle Giersdorf, won the battle royale event, taking home an incredible $3m (£2.24m).
