The latest Forbes list for the World’s Highest-Paid Female Athletes has been released and it is once again dominated by tennis players from the WTA Tour.
Coco Gauff was the big winner in 2024 as the American topped the list for the first time in her career, replacing five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek at No 1.
Last year Swiatek finished as the year-end No 1 and her estimated earnings were $23.9m as she beat freestyle skier Eileen Gu ($22.1m) and Gauff ($21.7m) to the honour.
But Gauff has shattered Swiatek’s $23.9m as the American earned a whopping $34.4m during the calendar year with the bulk of that coming from off-field sponsorships.
The 20-year-old, who won three titles this season, was second on the WTA’s prize earners list for this season as she made $9,353,847, which features a record $4.8 million from her WTA Finals trophy run.
But it’s the off-field earnings where she made most of her money as the $25m have come from deals with the likes of New Balance, Head, Barilla, Carol’s Daughter, Fanatics and Naked Juice.
The Gauff total is the third-highest figure with Naomi Osaka ($57.3m) and Serena Williams ($45.9m) ahead of her.
According to Forbes, off-field earnings “are determined through conversations with industry insiders and reflect annual cash from endorsements, licensing, appearances and memorabilia, as well as cash returns from any businesses in which the athlete has a significant interest”.
Taxes, agents’ fees or income from interest payments or dividends are not included.
Swiatek drops to No 2 as she earned slightly less than her 2023 season as she sits on $23.8m with $8.8m coming from prize money and $15m from endorsements.
Freestyle skier Gu is the only non-tennis player in the top five as she is third with $22.1m, ahead of Chinese star Zheng Qinwen and world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
The Forbes list is slightly different from the Sportico one that was released a few weeks ago, although Gauff also topped that one with Gu second and Swiatek third.
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Zheng won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics and finished runner-up at the Australian Open and WTA Finals and her earnings were $20.6m while Sabalenka’s Australian Open and US Open titles contributed to her total earnings of $18.7m. Interestingly, Sabalenka earned more in prize money ($9.7m) than from off-field commitments ($9m).
They are followed by two tennis colleagues as Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu are tied for sixth despite neither player winning any titles this year.
They are estimated to have earned $12.9m with $0.9m coming from prize money and a staggering $12m from endorsements. They were sixth and seventh last year with Osaka earning $15m and Raducanu $14.7m.
Tennis great Venus Williams played only two matches in 2024, but sits at No 9 thanks to her sponsorship deals as she made $12m from off-field commitments.
Jessica Pegula (11th with combined earnings of $10.2m), Jasmine Paolini (14th with earnings of $8m), Elena Rybakina (15th – earnings $7.9m) and Leylah Fernandez (18th – earnings $6.5m) are the other tennis players in the top 20.
1. Coco Gauff, Tennis – $34.4m ($9.4m on-field and $25m off-field)
2. Iga Swiatek, Tennis – $23.8m ($8.8m on-field and $15m off-field)
3. Eileen Gu, Freestyle Skiing – $22.1m ($0.1m on-field and $22m off-field)
4. Zheng Qinwen, Tennis – $20.6m ($5.6m on-field and $15m off-field)
5. Aryna Sabalenka, Tennis – $18.7m ($9.7m on-field and $9m off-field)
=6. Naomi Osaka, Tennis – $12.9m ($0.9m on-field and $12m off-field)
=6. Emma Raducanu, Tennis – $12.9m ($0.9m on-field and $12m off-field)
8. Nelly Korda, Golf – $12.5m ($4.5m on-field and $8m off-field)
9. Venus Williams, Tennis – $12.1m ($0.1m on-field and $12m off-field)
10. Simone Biles, Gymnastics – $11.2m ($0.2m on-field and $11m off-field)
11. Jessica Pegula, Tennis – $10.2m ($4.2m on-field and $6m off-field)
12. Jeeno Thitikul, Golf – $9.3m ($7.3 m on-field and $2m off-field)
13. Caitlan Clark, Basketball – $8.1m ($0.1m on-field and $8m off-field)
14. Jasmine Paolini, Tennis – $8m ($6.5m on-field and $1.5m off-field)
15. Elena Rybakina, Tennis – $7.9m ($3.9m on-field and $4m off-field)
16. Alex Morgan, Soccer – $7.6m ($0.6m on-field and $7m off-field)
17. P.V. Sindhu, Badminton – $7.1m ($0.1m on-field and $7m off-field)
18. Leylah Fernandez, Tennis – $6.5m ($1.5m on-field and $5m off-field)
=19. Sabrina Ionescu, Basketball – $6.3m ($0.3m on-field and $6m off-field)
=19. Lydia Ko, Golf – $6.3m ($3.3m on-field and $3m off-field)
