Source: Statista
Tennis is one of the few sports in the world with equal prize money between the sexes (at least at Grand Slam level), which is a big part of the reason the sport has dominated Forbes’ list of the highest paid female athletes. But the list has shown some signs of more diversity in terms of disciplines over the past years – compared to the 2020 and 2023 editions, which feature nine tennis players out of the ten highest-earning female athletes.
Polish player Iga Swiatek topped the list of the highest-paid female athlete last year, with almost $24 million in estimated total income earned on and off the court. Chinese-American skier Eileen Gu and fellow tennis player Coco Gauff follow behind, both with earnings topping $20 million in 2023. While Gu’s price money was negligible due to an injury, the athlete was able to bring in big bucks nevertheless in deals with brands like Mengniu Dairy and Anta in China as well as Louis Vuitton and Victoria’s Secret in the Western World. Gauff also made more money off the court than on it, appearing as the face of Baker Tilly, Bose and UPS while also promoting for Marvel.
The discrepancy between on-court performance and off-the-field earnings also affected several other tennis players due to injuries, maternity breaks and partial retirement – like in the cases of Venus Williams, Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu.
The list also included gymnast Simone Biles in 2022 and 2021, who ranked 16th in 2023. More former non-tennis entries are South Korean golfer Jin Young Ko and Indian badminton player P.V. Sindhu in 2021.
None of the highest-paid female athletes made the top 50 in Forbes’ most current edition of the highest-paid athletes list which looked at earnings between May 2022 and April 2023.
