Simona Halep is out of the Madrid Open, but her solid run in the Spanish capital has enabled her to make a substantial move on the all-time list of highest prize money earners.
Halep is one of the most decorated tennis players from Romania. She has won two Grand Slams and held the number-one ranking for 64 weeks. After a turbulent 2021 season, the 30-year-old has been in fine form this year, winning her 23rd WTA title at the Melbourne Summer Set 1.
Although she hasn't added to her trophy cabinet since January, Halep has been productive on the court and registered consistent results that deserted her for most of last season because of a calf injury.
This week, she competed in Madrid and was looking to reach her fourth semifinal of the season. Having seen off Shuai Zhang, Paula Badosa, and the talented American teenager Coco Gauff, she met her match in the quarterfinal.
The former World No. 1 won just five games against Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, but she did not leave the tournament without a major milestone. Halep became the third-highest prize money earner in WTA history.
Halep's number is quite impressive, and some more prize money in Madrid ($210,366) this week allowed her to overtake five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova and rank in the top three on the list.
She takes her tally to $38,842,886 in career earnings, ahead of Sharapova, who earned $38,777,962. Second on that list is Venus Williams, who has earned $42,280,540, which seems like a realistic number to catch for the Romanian.
Of course, the undisputed number one is 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, with $94,518,971. One thing to note here is that prize money is solely the funds players receive from playing in actual tennis tournaments, and it does not include figures associated with off-court ventures like sponsorships.
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