From Iga Swiatek To Eileen Gu: Here Are The Highest-Paid Female Athletes of 2023

Dec 23, 2023

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Iga Świątek, Eileen Gu and Coco Gauff are the top earners for the past 12 months as tennis players continue to dominate the annual pay ranking. With Serena Williams retired and Naomi Osaka sidelined for the year as she recovered from injuries and then childbirth, the list of the world’s highest-paid female athletes has a new No. 1: 22-year-old Polish tennis star Iga Świątek, who made an estimated $23.9 million in 2023 (before taxes and agents’ fees). Since Forbes introduced the ranking in 2008, Maria Sharapova is the only other woman to have claimed the crown, reigning for eight straight years until Williams took over in 2016.

Świątek’s monster year included the women’s singles title at the French Open, and four new endorsement deals, but it’s also no coincidence that she—like Osaka, Williams and Sharapova before her—plays tennis. Twelve of the world’s 20 highest-paid female athletes, and nine of the top 10, come from the sport, which offers sizable prize money and ample marketing opportunities for female athletes.

Golf and soccer each have two athletes represented in this year’s top 20, with badminton, basketball, gymnastics and freestyle skiing rounding out the list with one athlete apiece.

Combined, the 20 top-earning women made an estimated $226 million in 2023. That is a 13% drop from 2022’s $258 million, but the decline can be attributed almost entirely to the loss of Williams (who hauled in $41.3 million on last year’s list) and Osaka’s tumble to $15 million (from $51.1 million in 2022) amid her long layoff.

Forbes SportsMoney Reporter Justin Birnbaum, joins 'Forbes Talks' to list the highest paid female athletes.

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