Sports
The Highest-Paid Female Athletes Score A Record $167 Million The world’s ten highest-paid female athletes earned a combined $167 million before taxes in 2021, according to Forbes estimates, a 23% increase over 2020 and a 16% jump from the prior record of $143.3 million set in 2013.
2. Serena Williams Tennis • Age: 40 • U.S. Total Earnings: $45.9M On-The-Field Earnings: $0.9 million Off-The-Field Earnings: $45 million
Tennis • Age: 24 • Japan Total Earnings: $57.3M On-The-Field Earnings: $2.3 million Off-The-Field Earnings: $55 million Nearly all of Naomi Osaka’s $57.3 million in pretax earnings comes from an endorsement portfolio that has added more than ten brand partners over the last year and a half, including Louis Vuitton, Sweetgreen and Tag Heuer. In recent months, the Japanese-born 24-year-old has picked up equity stakes in VR startup StatusPRO and plant-based-chicken maker Daring Foods, released a collection of NFTs on Tom Brady’s Autograph platform and launched a skincare line called Kinlò. The tennis ace had a bit of a tougher time on the court in 2021, falling to 13th in the women’s rankings and crashing out of the Tokyo Olympics in the third round, but she did capture her fourth Grand Slam title, at the Australian Open in February. She will defend her crown at this year’s tournament in Melbourne. F O R B E S M I D D L E E A S T.C O M
3. Venus Williams Tennis • Age: 41 • U.S. Total Earnings: $11.3M On-The-Field Earnings: $0.3 million Off-The-Field Earnings: $11 million Venus Williams is a rare sight on the WTA Tour these days, playing only nine tournaments, and winning only three matches, in 2021. That would destroy most players’ earnings potential: In the tennis world, a drop in the rankings or a missed tournament typically triggers a reduction in deals with sponsors hoping to see their logos on television. But Williams’ partnerships in recent years have focused more on her celebrity than her tennis, and the 41-year-old has a lucrative side hustle making appearances and giving keynote speeches. She has her own apparel brand, EleVen, which has collaborated with K-Swiss, and like her sister Serena, she was an executive producer on the film King Richard. Also like her sister, she will skip this year’s Australian Open—the first time neither of them will appear at the Melbourne tournament since 1997. FEBRUARY 2022
LEV RADIN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
1. Naomi Osaka
Were it not for Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams would claim the earnings record for a female athlete with her $45.9 million from 2021. The 40-year-old played in only six WTA Tour tournaments and plummeted to 41st in the women’s rankings—her worst mark since she returned to tennis in 2018 after the birth of her daughter—but she remains a big draw for advertisers, partnering with brands like Nike, Gatorade and, most recently, DirecTV. She was an executive producer on the 2021 film King Richard, which centered on her father, and she has investments in more than 60 startups through her firm Serena Ventures. Williams said that she would miss the Australian Open because “I am not where I need to be physically to compete.”
BY BRETT KNIGHT, FORBES; MAI GROVES / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM, LEONARD ZHUKOVSKY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM,
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