Carlos Alcaraz captured his second straight Wimbledon title against Novak Djokovic in a rematch of their 2023 final. Last year was an epic, nearly five-hour, five-set match in which Alcaraz denied Djokovic his fifth straight All England title. This year, the 21-year-old Spaniard rolled in straight sets: 6-2, 6-2, 7-6.
Alcaraz earned $3.5 million for the 2024 title, which pushed his career prize money to $35.1 million, ninth all time. Djokovic made $2.2 million and extended his lead on the all-time list to $184.7 million, $50 million ahead of Rafael Nadal.
“For me, this is the most beautiful tournament, the most beautiful court and obviously the most beautiful trophy,” Alcaraz said on Center Court after the match.
It is Alcaraz’s fourth Grand Slam title, including his wins at the 2024 French Open and 2022 U.S. Open.
Djokovic was a question mark if he would play at Wimbledon after a knee injury forced him to withdraw from his quarterfinal match at the French Open and required surgery. Djokovic made the final and was looking to tie Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles and extend his own Open-era record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic has won 98 career events, including at least four in 15 different years, but the 37-year-old Serb is still seeking his first win of 2024. Wimbledon was his first final this year.
The Wimbledon result continued the passing of the torch from the sport’s past to its current and future crop of stars. Alcaraz recently topped Djokovic as the world’s highest-paid player, with $45 million in prize money, endorsements and appearance fees in the 12 months through June 30. Jannik Sinner ranked third at $25.7 million, and the 22-year-old Italian will retain his ATP Tour No. 1 ranking after Wimbledon.
Sponsors have flocked to Alcaraz as the future of the sport with tennis’ Big Three of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer nearing the end of their reign. Alcaraz signed deals with LVMH, Rolex, BMW, Babolat, Calvin Klein and ISDIN sunscreen. Nike is his most lucrative partnership, and the Swoosh redid its deal with Alcaraz in 2023 at a huge increase. He will earn more than $10 million from Nike this year.
On the women’s side, Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to win her first Wimbledon crown, adding to her 2021 French Open title. Czech’s Krejcikova earned $3.5 million for the win.
It was the second straight Grand Slam final for Paolini. The 28-year-old Italian entered 2024 with a career record in Slams of 4-16 but is 15-3 in major events this year and has nearly tripled her career prize money.
“I don’t have any words right now,” Krejcikova said during the trophy presentation. “It’s definitely the best day of my tennis career and also the best day of my life.”
