According to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico on Thursday, tennis star Naomi Osaka of Chuo Ward, Japan has been named the highest paid female sports athlete in the world. In 2022, she has earned $53.2 million.
It should be noted that Osaka makes the majority of her wealth off the tennis court. Of the $53.2 million she earned, $52 million (or 98%) came from endorsements. Among the companies that have sponsored Osaka include Nissan, Nike, Yonex, FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange, Mastercard, Workday, Panasonic, Tag Heuer Swiss Luxury Watches, and Sweetgreen Restaurants.
Swiatek’s best result in a WTA tournament came in Miami in early April. There she reached the final, before losing to Iga Swiatek of Poland, 6-4, 6-0.
Osaka generated her fame on her marvelous tennis results from 2018 to 2021. In this four-year time period, Osaka won four majors–the 2018 and 2020 United States Open, and the 2019 and 2021 Australian Open.
Among the top 15 highest paid female athletes in the world, eight are tennis players. Serena Williams of the United States is second ($35.3 million), Emma Raducanu of Great Britain is third ($26.2 million), French Open champion and United States Open champion Iga Swiatek of Poland is seventh ($8.1 million), Coco Gauff of the United States is eighth ($7.7 million), Australian Open champion Ashleigh Barty is ninth ($7.6 million), Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez is 10th ($6.4 million) and Garbine Muguruza of Spain is 13th ($5.7 million).
It is interesting that Barty and Williams both cracked the top 10 even though they announced their retirement from tennis in 2022. However, there are now reports this week that Williams did not retire but stepped away according to Thomson Reuters. Now one needs to legitimately question why there were so many tributes to Williams this summer.
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