Serena tops list of highest-earning female athletes

Serena Williams has topped the Forbes’ list of highest-earning female athletes in the world despite winning just $62,000 in prize money during the last 12 months.

The 23-time grand slam champion earned $18.1 million in endorsements according to a report in CNN.com, and it was enough for her to top the list for a third straight year despite not playing competitively for 14 months.

The American tennis star was off the courts from January 2017 after revealing she was pregnant with her first child, and returned to the game in March 2018.

Read Also: NFF Crisis: Dalung tags FG intervention a ‘scratch on the surface’, insists on rule of law

The 36-year-old made twice as much off the court than any other female athlete, while only 16 male athletes have earned more than Williams over the past 12 months from sponsorships.

The top 10 females earned a combined $105 million from June 2017 to June 2018 — down 4% from last year and 28% from five years ago.

In comparison, the combined earnings of the world’s top 10 highest-paid sports stars, who are all male, tops a billion dollars.

The top 10 and their total earnings
Serena Williams (tennis) – $18.1m (£14m)
Caroline Wozniacki (tennis) – $13m (£10.1m)
Sloane Stephens (tennis) – $11.2m (£8.7m)
Garbine Muguruza (tennis) – $11m (£8.5m)
Maria Sharapova (tennis) – $10.5m (£8.1m)
Venus Williams (tennis) – $10.2m (£7.9m)
PV Sindhu (badminton) – $8.5m (£6.6m)
Simona Halep (tennis) – $7.7m (£6m)
Danica Patrick (race car driving) – $7.5m (£5.8m)
Angelique Kerber (tennis) – $7m (£5.4m)

 

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now