Roger Federer Tops Forbes’ List of Most Financially Valuable Athlete; Maria Sharapova and Li Na Also Make the Cut

Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates winning the fourth set against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their men's singles finals tennis match on Centre Court at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London July 6, 2014. REUTERS

Roger Federer has topped Forbes' list of Most Financially Valuable Athlete.

According to Forbes Magazine, Federer is tied with professional golfer Tiger Woods in the first place who both amassed $46 million in terms of their earnings in 2013. Fellow tennis athletes Maria Sharapova and Li Na also made the list who were sitting comfortably at the fourth and eighth places with $23 million and $15 million, respectively.

Some people may question Federer's inclusion but the Swiss fourth-ranked athlete has always been a regular entry to Forbes' rich list. Even though he has not won a Grand Slam title since last year, he is still making millions of money with all his endorsement deals just like his 10-year contract with Nike which was reportedly worth $100 million. He has sponsorships with big companies such as Credit Suisse, Lindt Chocolate, Rolex, Gillette, Wilson, and Moet and Chandon to name a few.

In addition to his sponsor deals, it would reportedly cost tournament organisers at least $1 million to have Federer on the starting lineup.

Recently, Federer also ranked seventh in Forbes' Top 100 Highest-Paid Athletes of 2014. His rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were ranked 24^th and 43^rd, correspondingly. He was also named as one of Forbes' Top 20 Powerful Celebrities list at the 16^th place ahead of international musical personalities Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and Kanye West who were at the 17^th, 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th places, in that order.

Forbes stated that Federer has managed to stay on the crest of the world rankings 18 years after turning professional as a tennis athlete in 1998. He is the only male tennis athlete who has the most number of wins in Grand Slam tournaments. He has reportedly appeared in 18 out of 19 Grand Slam finals between 2005 and 2010. He also holds the record for the highest prize money received in tournaments amounting to $81 million.