ATP doubles stars are facing serious prize money cuts.
During Wimbledon, the ATP proposed changes which would include halving the size of doubles draws from 2028 and cutting the prize money devoted to doubles players from 20% to 10%, redistributing that money to their singles counterparts.
It’s been reported that some singles players believe doubles stars earn ‘too much’, but is that really fair?
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Here is how much the top doubles players have earned this year.
Only two ATP doubles players have earned over $1 million in 2026
In 2026, Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten, the Wimbledon Champions, are the only two ATP doubles players to have surpassed $1 million in prize money earnings.
In third comes Andrea Vavassori, who has earned under $900,000 this season.
And the earnings continue to drop to just over $600,000 for the 10th best-paid doubles player, Guido Andreozzi.
Top 10 ATP prize money earners in 2026 (Doubles)
| Rank | Name | Country | 2026 Prize money |
| T-1 | Harri Heliovaara | Finland | $1,397,091 |
| T-1 | Henry Patten | Great Britain | $1,397,091 |
| 3 | Andrea Vavassori | Italy | $887,180 |
| 4 | Marcel Granollers | Spain | $811,942 |
| 5 | Horacio Zeballos | Argentina | $804,104 |
| 6 | Simone Bolelli | Italy | $768,392 |
| 7 | Mate Pavic | Croatia | $728,893 |
| 8 | Marcelo Arevalo | El Salvador | $726,958 |
| 9 | Manuel Guinard | France | $607,667 |
| 10 | Guido Andreozzi | Argentina | $605,239 |
In comparison, Jannik Sinner, the top prize money earner in singles, has pocketed well over $11 million this year.
And the 10th best-paid singles star, Taylor Fritz, has earned over $2 million.
Top 10 ATP prize money earners in 2026 (Singles)
| Rank | Name | Country | 2026 Prize money |
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | Italy | $11,602,104 |
| 2 | Alexander Zverev | Germany | $8,879,456 |
| 3 | Carlos Alcaraz | Spain | $4,365,354 |
| 4 | Flavio Cobolli | Italy | $3,813,017 |
| 5 | Novak Djokovic | Seria | $2,982,951 |
| 6 | Daniil Medvedev | Russia | $2,772,450 |
| 7 | Alex de Minaur | Australia | $2,772,371 |
| 8 | Felix Auger-Aliassime | Canada | $2,764,861 |
| 9 | Ben Shelton | USA | $2,317,049 |
| 10 | Taylor Fritz | USA | $2,236,824 |
Patten and Heliovaara would sit 30th in an overall prize money table this year, behind the likes of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Karen Khachanov, and Zizou Bergs.
Looking at those numbers, it’s hard to see an argument for cutting doubles prize money.
Do the world number ones, who have won Wimbledon, the Madrid Open, and three other titles this year, deserve to be paid less than a singles star who hasn’t won a title or been past the third round of a Grand Slam?
If your answer is already no, imagine how things would look if you cut doubles prize money in half and gave it to singles players.
The proposals are unfair and almost indefensible.
And you have to question some of those who seem to support the move.
Reilly Opelka, a vocal critic of the doubles game, has questioned the talent of the players, mocking the ‘Save doubles’ campaign with a picture of an empty stadium.
In 2026, Opelka has only won six matches across singles and doubles, earning $435,858.
That’s $72,463 per win.
Heliovaara and Patten, on the other hand, have won 39 matches, earning $1,397,091.
That’s $35,822 per win.
So, Opelka is already earning more than double the prize money per match win than Patten and Heliovaara.
If you believe that doubles pairs should earn half as much as their singles counterparts for doing ‘half’ the work, as flawed as that logic may be, that’s surely a number you can be happy with.
Cut that by half, and you’re simply disrespecting the game of doubles.
Will WTA doubles players face prize money cuts?
As of now, WTA doubles stars aren’t expected to see their prize money share cut.
That’s good news for Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova, who like Patten and Heliovaara, have both earned over $1 million in doubles prize money this season.
Only time will tell what the future holds for the game of doubles, but it’s certainly a story to keep an eye on over the coming weeks and months.
