Serena Williams overtakes Maria Sharapova as highest-paid female athlete
Serena Williams may have lost the French Open final, but she still earned a major victory this week.
Forbes announced Monday that Williams has overtaken Maria Sharapova as the world’s highest-paid female athlete, bringing in $28.9 million in prize money and endorsements over the year. The world No. 1 won three Grand Slams in 2015, reached the final of the year’s first two Slam events and added a major endorsement deal with Chase.
Sharapova had reigned atop Forbes’ annual list for 11 years, but lost lucrative endorsement deals with Nike, American Express, Porsche and TAG Heuer due to her recent doping scandal. She pulled in $21.9 million, down nearly $8 million from last year.
Not surprisingly, tennis players made up eight of the year’s top-10 earners. The pro tennis circuit has a narrow gender pay gap compared to other sports, as men’s and women’s tennis matches draw similar TV ratings, and both genders receive equal prize money at all Grand Slam events.
And both genders are on a leveler playing field when it comes to marketability. Williams boasts 6.2 million Twitter followers, while world No. 1 Novak Djokovic has 5.65 million and Roger Federer has 5.2 million.
UFC star Ronda Rousey and driver Danica Patrick, who make up the third and fourth spots, were the only non-tennis players represented among the top 10.
