The significance of the WTA Tour has been brought into the limelight after an analysis declared it the highest paying women’s sport for their top athletes.
Forbes annual list of highest-paid female athletes in 2020 showed that nine female athletes made over $5 million in earnings with all of those belonging to tennis. The earnings were calculated based on prize money, salaries, bonuses, appearance fees and endorsements between June 1, 2019, and June 1, 2020. Incredibly the latest list isn’t the most dominant performance by tennis players. 12 months ago all top 10 positions were occupied by a WTA player. The only difference in 2020 is that footballer Alex Morgan has risen from 12th to 10th position.
Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka tops the list with total earnings of $37.4M with almost 90% ($34M) of her earnings being down solely to endorsements. According to Forbes the high earnings have been related to the Tokyo Olympics which has been delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Osaka is one of the faces of the Games which made her even more appealing to sponsors such as Nippon Airways and Nissan. According to the report, only Roger Federer has made more than the 22-year-old in endorsements.
Unsurprisingly, following Osaka closely behind in second place is Serena Williams, who boasted $36M in earnings with $32M coming from endorsements. Her portfolio include deals with the likes of Nike, Gatorade, Procter & Gamble and Beats. Furthermore, Williams is also an accomplished businesswoman with a series of businesses and investments she is linked to. Last September she debuted her S by Serena fashion line at New York Fashion week, which was watched by Vogue Editor-and-Chief Anna Wintour.
The disparity between the top two places on the list and third is threefold. Current world No.1 Ash Barty made the majority of her money by winning prize money. The Australian won $10.1M on the Tour besides her $3M in endorsements. Her biggest moneymaking day occurred at the WTA Finals where she exited the tournament with an absurd payment of $4.42M.
Making up the top five is Simona Halep ($10.9M) and Bianca Andreescu ($8.9M). Both of whom are current Grand Slam champions. Further down the list is a top 10 debut by Sofia Kenin, who won her maiden major title at the Australian Open in January. She is in eighth place with $5.8M in earnings.
The dominance of women’s tennis in earnings comes just 13 years after equal prize money was implemented at all Grand Slams with Wimbledon becoming the last to do so. This year’s earning potential has however been hampered by the COVID-19 with most tournaments in Asia being cancelled. A key learning area for the WTA with the 2019 China swing offering an estimated $30M in prize money.
Forbes’ list of highest paid tennis players
| Rank | Names | Endorsements | Prize Money | Total |
| 1 | Naomi Osaka | $34M | $3.4M | $37.4M |
| 2 | Serena Williams | $32M | $4M | $36M |
| 3 | Ash Barty | $3M | $10.1M | $13.1M |
| 4 | Simona Halep | $4M | $6.9M | $10.9M |
| 5 | Bianca Andreescu | $4M | $4.9M | $8.9M |
| 6 | Garbine Muguruza | $4.5M | $2.1M | $6.6M |
| 7 | Elina Svitolina | $1M | $5.4M | $6.4M |
| 8 | Sofia Kenin | $1M | $4.8M | $5.8M |
| 9 | Angelique Kerber | $4M | $1.3M | $5.3M |
