Tennis Players Dominate Forbes List Of The 10 Highest-Paid Female Athletes
athletes, but Maria was not the only tennis player to earn a spot on the List, which was dominated by female tennis players. 2011 French Open champion, Li Na, of China; Serena Williams, 2012 Wimbledon champion and London Olympic Gold Medalist; former Number One, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark; current World Number One and 2012 Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus; 2008 French Open champion and former Number one ranked, Ana Ivanovic of Serbia; and 2012 Wimbledon finalist, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, also made the list. Race car driver, Danica Patrick; skater, Kim Yuna, and golfer Yani Tseng also made the list.
1. Maria Sharapova - $27.1 million
Sharapova, who earned $5.1 million in prize money over the past year, also had endorsement deals, appearance fees, etc. worth another $22 million from sponsors such as HEAD, Samsung, Tag Heur, Evian and Nike, which includes her very successful Cole Haan collection (sales doubled in the past year and her ballet flat is their best-selling women’s shoe). This fall, Maria will launch her new tennis-themed candy line, "Sugarpova". 2. Li Na - $18.4 million
Li is on the List because she reached the 2011 Australian Open final and then won the 2011 French Open final, which was viewed by 116 million people in China! As a result, Li signed several lucrative, multi-year endorsement deals, e.g. Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, as well as her deal with Nike (she is the only Nike player allowed to wear endorsement patches on her Nike outfits!). 3. Serena Williams - $16.3 million
Serena, who recently added to her Wimbledon trophy cabinet and Gold Medal collection, earned $5.3 million in prize money the past year. She has endorsement deals with Nike, Wilson and others. 4. Caroline Wozniacki - $13.7 million
Caroline Wozniacki, who reached the Number One ranking, and held on to it for most of 2010 and 2011, capitalized on that to increase her earnings significantly. Caroline is the face of Stella McCartney for adidas and also has deals with Yonex, Sony Ericsson, Rolex and Proactiv. This fall, Wozniacki is launching her own line of underwear. Wozniacki’s visibility in the press has also increased since she started dating golfer, Rory McEllroy, a year ago. 6. Victoria Azarenka - $9.7 million
Azarenka, who won the 2012 Australian Open and became ranked Number One, earned $6.7 million in prize money the past year (most on Tour). Off-court, Azarenka’s new Nike endorsement deal is a big pay increase. 8. Ana Ivanovic - $7.2 million
Ivanovic won the French Open in 2008 and became Number One. Ana, whose ranking has dropped the last few years, but is now back up to twelfth, has parlayed that success and her looks into lucrative endorsements including her adidas clothing and shoe contract. 9. Agnieszka Radwanska - $6.9 million
Radwanska, who was a finalist at Wimbledon this year and has been ranked as high as number two in the world, has been the top player in Poland for years and now has endorsement deals with Lotto, Babolat and Lexus. On-court, Radwanska earned $4.9 million in prize money.
Sharapova, who earned $5.1 million in prize money over the past year, also had endorsement deals, appearance fees, etc. worth another $22 million from sponsors such as HEAD, Samsung, Tag Heur, Evian and Nike, which includes her very successful Cole Haan collection (sales doubled in the past year and her ballet flat is their best-selling women’s shoe). This fall, Maria will launch her new tennis-themed candy line, "Sugarpova". 2. Li Na - $18.4 million
Li is on the List because she reached the 2011 Australian Open final and then won the 2011 French Open final, which was viewed by 116 million people in China! As a result, Li signed several lucrative, multi-year endorsement deals, e.g. Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, as well as her deal with Nike (she is the only Nike player allowed to wear endorsement patches on her Nike outfits!). 3. Serena Williams - $16.3 million
Serena, who recently added to her Wimbledon trophy cabinet and Gold Medal collection, earned $5.3 million in prize money the past year. She has endorsement deals with Nike, Wilson and others. 4. Caroline Wozniacki - $13.7 million
Caroline Wozniacki, who reached the Number One ranking, and held on to it for most of 2010 and 2011, capitalized on that to increase her earnings significantly. Caroline is the face of Stella McCartney for adidas and also has deals with Yonex, Sony Ericsson, Rolex and Proactiv. This fall, Wozniacki is launching her own line of underwear. Wozniacki’s visibility in the press has also increased since she started dating golfer, Rory McEllroy, a year ago. 6. Victoria Azarenka - $9.7 million
Azarenka, who won the 2012 Australian Open and became ranked Number One, earned $6.7 million in prize money the past year (most on Tour). Off-court, Azarenka’s new Nike endorsement deal is a big pay increase. 8. Ana Ivanovic - $7.2 million
Ivanovic won the French Open in 2008 and became Number One. Ana, whose ranking has dropped the last few years, but is now back up to twelfth, has parlayed that success and her looks into lucrative endorsements including her adidas clothing and shoe contract. 9. Agnieszka Radwanska - $6.9 million
Radwanska, who was a finalist at Wimbledon this year and has been ranked as high as number two in the world, has been the top player in Poland for years and now has endorsement deals with Lotto, Babolat and Lexus. On-court, Radwanska earned $4.9 million in prize money.
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