On December 21, Forbes officially announced the TOP20 highest-paid female athletes in sports in 2023. Gu Ailing and Zheng Qinwen are two Chinese players on the list, with Gu Ailing coming in second and Zheng Qinwen ranking 15th. Judging from this year's income, tennis is still the number one sport for women, with 9 tennis players in the top 10.
At No. 1 is WTA world No. 1 Swiatek, who earned a total of $23.9 million in 2023, including $9.9 million on-court and $14 million off-court.
Gu Ailing is close behind Swiatek with $22.1 million and ranks second in the year. Of Gu's income, $100,000 comes from the arena and $22 million comes from off-court endorsements. Forbes had the following to say about Gu: Gu's earnings didn't plummet in the gap between the two Winter Olympics, and the freestyle skier has long-term sponsorships around the world.
In third place is American tennis player Gauff, who earned $21.7 million in 2023, including $6.7 million on the court and $15 million off the court.
In fourth place is the Chinese tennis talent Raducanu, after winning the US Open in 2021, Raducanu's commercial value has skyrocketed, although the ranking has plummeted this year due to injuries and other reasons, but it has not affected her commercial value in the slightest. In 2023, Raducanu will earn $15.2 million, with 200,000 on-site + 15 million off-court.
No. 5 is Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, who is ranked No. 5 on the list with $15 million earned off the court, despite not playing for the whole year of 2023 due to pregnancy and childbirth.
6th place: Sabalenka (8.2 million + 6.2 million)
7th place: Pegula (6 million + 6.5 million)
No. 8: Williams (200,000 + 12 million)
9th place: Rybakina (5.5 million + 4 million)
No. 10: Fernandes (1.8 million + 7 million)
No. 11: Nellie Korda (1.7 million + 6.5 million)
12th place: Megan Rapinoe (700,000 + 7.5 million)
No. 13: Candace Parker (100,000 + 8 million)
No. 14: Alex Morgan (800,000 + 7 million)
No. 15: Zheng Qinwen (1.7 million + 5.5 million)
No. 16: Simon Biles (100,000 + 7 million)
Tied for 16th: Sindhu (100,000 + 7 million)
No. 18: Abdul-Jabbar (3.2 million + 2.5 million)
No. 19: Brooke Henderson (1.9 million + 3.5 million)
20th place: Vondrousova (4.7 million + 500,000)