Poland’s Iga Swiatek has been named this year’s highest-paid female athlete by Forbes and becomes the fourth WTA player to top the podium, since the category was established in 2008. Forbes said on and off the court, world No. 1 ranked Swiatek has earned a total of $23.9 million in 2023. In second place is Chinese snowboarder Eileen Gu with 22.1 million USD and American tennis player Coco Gauff ranked third with 21.7 million USD.
Swiatek’s income includes $9.9 million in tournament winnings and another $14 million from off-court activities. Forbes writes that the 22-year-old has spent 82 weeks at the top of the world rankings, the 10th best result in the history of the Women’s Tennis Association, and so far in her career she has earned 25 million on the court, putting her at number 14 on the all-time list.
Swiatek was the WTA’s best-performing player last season after winning 6 titles, including her 3rd Roland Garros crown. The Polish star is the person who earned the most prize money in the women’s tournament , earning $9,857,686. Swiatek has also earned similar amounts off the field.
Swiatek added to her four existing brand partnerships to increase her advertising income into eight figures (tens of millions of dollars), signing on to become a global brand ambassador for the services company. VISA payment card and multinational IT company Infosys.
The 22-year-old also bolstered her portfolio by partnering with clothing sponsor On and sports drink Oshee. Swiatek, along with Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka, are the rare WTA players to top the list of highest-paid female athletes, according to Forbes.
The felt ball village dominates the entire list. Gauff – ranked No. 3 – earned about $6.7 million on the field, but more than double that amount from advertising. There are 9 positions in the Top 10 of this list belonging to tennis players.
In particular, British tennis star Emma Raducanu competed until April 2023 when she decided to undergo three surgeries, but she has built a brand as one of the highly marketable athletes. best in the world since winning the 2021 US Open despite starting from the qualifying round. This is reflected in her total income – the majority of which comes from advertising contracts – reaching a whopping $15 million.
Not playing a single tennis match last season after maternity leave, Naomi Osaka earned the same off-court income as Raducanu and ranked 5th. Aryna Sabalenka, Venus Williams, Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina and Leylah Fernandez are the other players occupying places in the Top 10.
