Coco Gauff had a really strong 2023 campaign, which saw her climb to the top of the list of highest-paid female athletes.
Women's sports are growing with every year, and tennis is one of the leading sports. You only need to look at the highest-paid athletes in the world published by Sportico to see where tennis stands.
The two top earners are both tennis players. Iga Swiatek didn't emerge on top of this list, though, as the Polish superstar is only second behind Coco Gauff. Both did really well for themselves, of course, as Swiatek dominated the WTA Tour and accumulated $9.9 million in prize money.
She added 12 million in endorsements, bringing the total to $21.9 million. Gauff still edged her out, thanks to her endorsement deals. The American earned $16 million from them while adding $6.6 million in prize money for a total of $22.7 million.
What's interesting about the list is that 7 of the 10 highest-paid athletes in the world are tennis players. We've seen a lot of chatter about the prize money gap in tennis, which is very real, but the top of the sport seems to be doing just fine.
However, still, most of that money might come from endorsements. Another thing that's interesting about the list is that two players, Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu, who basically didn't earn anything from prize money still made the list thanks to their endorsements.
Osaka earned $15 million, while Raducanu had $16.2 million in earnings, which is remarkable. Still, Coco Gauff is at the top thanks to her breakout year, which saw her win the US Open.
It's a considerable improvement from last year when she finished 7th on the list. She also finished 2nd in the endorsement department behind only Eileen Gu and tied with Emma Raducanu.
Other tennis players on the list are Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Leylah Fernandez, and also Ons Jabeur, as a total of nine players in the Top 15 were tennis players.
Highest-paid Female Athletes Of 2023:
| Rank | Athlete | Sport | Salary/Winnings | Endorsements | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Coco Gauff | Tennis | $6.7M | $16M | $22.7M |
| 2. | Iga Swiatek | Tennis | $9.9M | $12M | $21.9M |
| 3. | Eileen Gu | Freestyle Skiing | $27K | $20M | $20M |
| 4. | Emma Raducanu | Tennis | $238K | $16M | $16.2M |
| 5. | Naomi Osaka | Tennis | $0 | $15M | $15M |
| 6. | Aryna Sabalenka | Tennis | $8.2M | $4M | $12.2M |
| 7. | Elena Rybakina | Tennis | $5.5M | $4M | $9.5M |
| 8. | Jessica Pegula | Tennis | $6M | $3M | $9M |
| 9. | Simone Biles | Gymnastics | $0 | $8.5M | $8.5M |
| 10. | Nelly Korda | Golf | $1.4M | $6.5M | $7.9M |
| 11. | Alex Morgan | Football | $850K | $6M | $6.9M |
| 12. | Megan Rapinoe | Football | $750K | $6M | $6.8M |
| 13. | Leylah Fernandez | Tennis | $1.1M | $5M | $6.1M |
| 13. | Mikaela Shiffrin | Skiing | $1.1M | $5M | $6.1M |
| 15. | Ons Jabeur | Tennis | $3.2M | $2.5M | $5.7M |
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