Aryna Sabalenka's career-best 2024 season has allowed her to hit a highly impressive prize money milestone.
Sabalenka was already enjoying a superb career before 2024 began. She won her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2023 Australian Open and had accumulated over $20 million in prize money.
However, the Belarusian, one of the hardest workers on the WTA Tour, was not satisfied with those achievements. Having been told she was not talented at the start of her career, Sabalenka was ready to prove those dissenters wrong.
The 26-year-old may have also been motivated by how 2023 ended. Sabalenka was in pole position to secure the year-end No. 1 ranking, but Iga Swiatek overtook her by winning the WTA Finals.
She immediately made a mark by retaining the Australian Open. After winning a high-quality semifinal by Coco Gauff, Sabalenka crushed Qinwen Zheng in style to triumph in Melbourne again.
Sabalenka did not win another title for over six months after that. She reached clay court finals at the Madrid Open and Italian Open but lost both to Swiatek. The pair's Madrid Open final was one of the best matches in WTA history, with Swiatek saving match points to win.
The Belarusian's hopes of finishing as the year-end No. 1 seemed close to over after she began the North American hardcourt season after Wimbledon as the No. 3, trailing Swiatek by a massive number of points.
But Sabalenka overtook the Pole in style by winning the Cincinnati Open, the US Open, and the Wuhan Open. Swiatek not playing for nearly two months after the US Open due to hiring a new coach also helped Sabalenka.
The eventual champion Coco Gauff's triumph against Swiatek in the WTA Finals round-robin stage confirmed Sabalenka's place as the year-end No. 1. Her season ended after losing to Gauff in the semifinals.
Sabalenka was No. 1 on the 2024 WTA prize money list, earning nearly $10 million. However, how this season has impacted the US Open champion's place on the all-time prize money list is even more notable.
Reaching the semifinal of the WTA Finals saw Sabalenka surpass $30 million in prize money, an incredible achievement for someone still young by today's standards at 26. Her exact total is $30,106,823
Sabalenka entered the Top 10 for prize money earned earlier in the season, overtaking Agnieszka Radwanska. What she made at the WTA Finals was insufficient to overtake Angelique Kerber at No. 9.
Swiatek is No. 8 on the list with $33,141,991. Sabalenka's move past $30 million shows how close she is to her rival on the list. An even better 2025 season could make overtaking the four-time French Open champion possible.
Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova, and Victoria Azarenka are the Top 5 players on the all-time prize money list. The $94,816,730 earned by Serena is more than double that of any other player.
Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki are the other players in the Top 10. Kvitova is uncertain about her tennis future after complications during her pregnancy.