According to Forbes, Federer earned $ 106.3 million ($ 1.02 billion) over the past 12 months. He has thus passed Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi who are in place two and three.

"The Corona virus has forced football stars like Ronaldo and Messi to step down in salary, which has paved the way for a tennis player to top the list for the first time ever," Forbes editor Kurt Badenhausen said in a statement.

The Corona pandemic has meant that the 100 best-paid athletes have earned nine percent less than last year.

Earlier, the news came that Naomi Osaka is the female athlete who earns the most.