World No. 9 tennis star earns lower than gorgeous girlfriend at Australian Open

Tennis star Taylor Fritz reached the last 16 of the Australian Open, but his girlfriend Morgan Riddle actually earned more than him during the tournament

Despite reaching the fourth round of this year’s Australian Open, world No. 9 Taylor Fritz found himself earning less than his girlfriend.

The American tennis star was defeated in straight sets by Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti at Melbourne Park. Fritz, 28, pocketed £240,000 for making it to the last 16 at the first Grand Slam of the year. However, his girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, also 28, saw her Instagram following swell by over 7,000 during the tournament and raked in a cool €290,000 (£251,000), as reported by Bild.

Riddle’s earnings just pipped Fritz’s €277,000 (£240,000) total. The American model has been cashing in on lucrative sponsorship deals and boasts some big-name partners in the fashion and cosmetics industry.

Riddle has also made appearances at sporting events, including Wimbledon and Formula One. In a chat with Fritz before the tournament, she teased: “You have to get through the round of 16 first, otherwise I’ll earn more than you.”

She further explained: “It’s almost a competition between us at Grand Slams and other tournaments to see who earns more money during the tournament. He’s always encouraged and supported me. That’s how we became a dual-income household.”

JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page

Fritz adopted a reflective tone following his disappointing Grand Slam departure against Musetti on Monday. During his post-match media briefing, the former US Open finalist commended Musetti’s dominant display whilst also revealing more details about his injury struggles.

He said: “I’ve been pretty, I guess, transparent about the knee stuff the entire week. I was so happy with how I was feeling throughout the first two rounds, and then I came in after the match with Stan [Wawrinka] and it wasn’t feeling great, especially towards the end of the match.

“Today I was feeling it from the get-go. I felt good in my warmup this morning.

“Then when I went to do my pre-match stuff, like moving around and stuff before the match, I just I told my physio. I was like, ‘My knee just doesn’t feel great.’ I was hoping it would loosen up.

“I don’t really think it got worse, but it kind of just stayed the same the entire match. It was just pretty much everything was bothering it.”

Fritz’s upcoming schedule includes the ATP 500 event in Dallas, before tackling the Sunshine Double at Indian Wells and Miami. He added: “I think I can recover from it fairly, fairly quickly if I just take some time off.

“I don’t know. I don’t know how good it really is, but I’m going to see how that reacts. I’m hoping I can play Dallas.

“I’m not going to have to play more than three sets in any match in Dallas, so kind of just figure it out. If my knee feels like it’s not getting better, if my oblique feels like it’s not getting better, I’ll give myself the time.”