Gauff, Sabalenka, Swiatek rule as tennis queens dominate highest-paid female athletes 2025 list
NewsThursday, 04 December 2025 at 13:00
Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have claimed the
top three spots in the highest-paid female athletes list for 2025.
Tennis queens dominated the list as 10 WTA stars featured in
the 15-player list, published by Sportico. Zheng Qinwen, Madison Keys, Elena
Rybakina, Naomi Osaka, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Venus Williams were
the other seven rounding out the group.
Freestyle skier Eileen Gu, NBA’s Caitlin Clark, gymnast Simone
Biles, and golfers Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul completed the illustrious
list.
Here’s a breakdown of how much those WTA players earned in
2025 and where they stand in Sportico’s tally:
Venus Williams — $10.2 million
At 45, Venus Williams continues to thrive in the endorsement
world despite limiting her tennis endeavours.
This year, she played only three tournaments on the tour and
made $218,786 in prize money. The other $10 million for the seven-time Grand
Slam champion came from endorsements and corporate avenues.
Williams ranks 14th on the list.
Jessica Pegula — $10.5 million
Jessica Pegula is the daughter of billionaire parents Terry
and Kim, who own the Buffalo Bills, but she has made a separate identity for
herself through tennis.
She made $5,262,311 on the tennis court, courtesy of three championship
runs in Austin, Charleston and Bad Homburg. She reached the semifinals at the
US Open and finished in the top 10 in WTA singles rankings.
Pegula ranks 13th on the list.
Amanda Anisimova — $10.8 million
Amanda Anisimova was a revelation on the tennis court this
year, reaching the finals at Wimbledon and US Open, and winning WTA 1000
trophies in Doha and Beijing.
She earned a total of $7,260,577 in prize money and made the
remainder through brand deals from Nike, Wilson and others.
Anisimova ranks 12th on the list.
Naomi Osaka — $12.5 million
Naomi Osaka produced flashes of brilliance on the tour. She
produced a run to the semifinals of the US Open and ended as a runner-up in
Auckland. She also won a WTA 125 title this season.
Her on-court endeavours brought her $2,515,892. The major
chunk of her wealth poured in through her association with Nike, Louis Vuitton,
Beats, etc.
Osaka ranks 10th on the list.
Elena Rybakina — $12.6 million
Elena Rybakina won the largest payout in women’s sports
history by winning this year’s WTA Finals. She took home $5,235,000 for her
efforts in Riyadh.
Besides, she prevailed in Ningbo and Strasbourg. Her total
earnings on the tour stood at $8,456,632. The rest she racked up through
endorsement deals.
Rybakina ranks 9th on the list.
Madison Keys — $13.4 million
Madison Keys won her maiden Grand Slam title this year. She
was crowned the Australian Open champion in January and also won the Adelaide
International.
Her WTA prize money came in at $4,357,787 at the end of the
season. She made the other roughly $9 million from brand partners Nike, Yonex,
IBM and others.
Keys ranks 8th on the list.
Zheng Qinwen — $20.6 million
Zheng Qinwen didn’t win a title on the WTA tour during the
season gone by and collected $1,574,548 worth prize money.
However, she breached the $20 million mark through deals and sponsorships.
Her gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics skyrocketed her popularity at home in
China—a country that takes pride in its Olympic prowess.
Zheng ranks 5th on the list.
Iga Swiatek — $23.1 million
In 2025, Iga Swiatek picked up three trophies, including the Venus
Rosewater Dish at Wimbledon. She finished the season as the World No. 2.
Her prize-money winnings stood at $10,112,532 at the end of
the season. The $200,000 from these earnings came from a runner-up finish at the
redesigned mixed-doubles competition at the US Open. Also, she is the face of
Swiss apparel and footwear brand On since 2023.
Swiatek ranks 3rd on the list.
Aryna Sabalenka — $30 million
Aryna Sabalenka won the US Open, reached the final of the Australian
Open, French Open and WTA Finals, and played the semifinals at Wimbledon to
take her prize-money returns to $15,008,519.
She made a similar amount through her off-court affiliations
Nike, Wilson, Audemars Piguet, etc. She also finished the year as the World No.
1, earning the WTA top 10 bonus.
Sabalenka ranks 2nd on the list.
Coco Gauff — $31 million
Coco Gauff doubled her singles Grand Slam tally by winning
the Roland-Garros in June, also winning the Wuhan Open later in the year.
She earned $7,969,845 through her racket and made the other
$23 million off the court. She has exclusive sponsorship deals with New Balance
and Miu Miu and is an investor in Unrivaled—a budding basketball league for
women.
Gauff ranks 1st on the list.
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