Iga Swiatek overtakes Venus Williams at No. 2 on all-time WTA prize money list

Iga Swiatek's extraordinary success at 24 years old has been demonstrated by her reaching No. 2 on the WTA's career prize money list, surpassing Venus Williams.

Although Coco Gauff's outstanding potential means she could dominate in the future, Swiatek has undoubtedly been the best WTA player of the 2020s so far. The Pole won her first Grand Slam title at the 2020 French Open.

After a less successful 2021, Swiatek dominated the WTA Tour in 2022. She became the No. 1 for the first time in April of that year, and won the 2022 iterations of the French Open and US Open, beating Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur in those finals.

Aryna Sabalenka briefly overtook Swiatek at No. 1 after the 2023 US Open before she regained that position by winning the 2023 WTA Finals. Her clay-court brilliance continued with further French Open title wins in 2023 and 2024.

Swiatek's dominance of the No. 1 ranking finally ended when Sabalenka overtook her in October last year. The Belarusian has retained that spot since, and is a significant favorite to finish as the year-end No. 1 again.

However, Swiatek has been this decade's most statistically successful player, with more Grand Slams, WTA 1000 titles, and weeks at No. 1 than anyone else. Her most recent major title came at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.

The Pole's new position on the prize money list reflects her outstanding efforts in the past five years. She has won $42,945,490 in prize money, pushing her ahead of Venus's $42,867,364, which puts the American at No. 3 on the list.

For fairness to previous generations, it should be noted that WTA players receive higher prize money amounts at Grand Slams and WTA tournaments than previous generations did, making it easier for them to move up the list.

Examples of the more significant prize money were Coco Gauff winning $4,805,000 at the 2024 WTA Finals, and Aryna Sabalenka collecting $5,000,000 for being the 2025 US Open champion. Each was a record amount.

Nonetheless, that should not detract from Swiatek's achievement. With her excellence, she has earned the No. 2 spot on the list and could finish her career as one of the greatest female athletes in sports history.

Swiatek and all other players have much work ahead to overtake Serena Williams at No. 1. The 23-time Grand Slam champion accumulated a remarkable $94,816,730 during her legendary career, and is broadly considered the best WTA player ever.

Aryna Sabalenka is No. 4 on the list with $42,480,621. If the 27-year-old participates in the 2025 WTA Finals, she will probably overtake Venus at No. 3. Last year, players received a $335,000 participation fee and $350,000 for each round-robin win.

Gauff is No. 11 on the list with $29,064,121. Although she is behind Sabalenka, the 21-year-old being six years younger than the world No. 1 means she will probably be a bigger threat to Swiatek on the prize money list in future years.

Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, and Angelique Kerber make up the rest of the prize money list's Top 10.