Gauff, WTA stars dominate Sportico's list of highest-paid women athletes

The 2023 US Open concluded with this marvelous back-to-the-future moment: Billie Jean King presenting Coco Gauff with the $3 million winner's check.

“Thank you, Billie, for fighting for this,” said Gauff, a student of history, waving the envelope to the crowd.

A few weeks later, King looked back on that exchange and said, “For the first time in my life, I feel like I can breathe a little -- or at least exhale for a little bit.”

It was King who was most instrumental in the formation of the Women’s Tennis Association and the long struggle for equal prize money. Earlier this week, those efforts continued to bear fruit in spectacular fashion.

According to Sportico.com, nine of the world’s 15 top-earning women athletes are members of the Hologic WTA Tour -- including six of the top seven. Gauff, a 20-year-old American, tops the 2024 list, which combines prize money and estimated endorsements, with more than $30 million. Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka are the only two athletes to previously surpass that lofty threshold.

It was a breakout year for professional athletes across all women's sports; 11 cleared the $10 million mark, compared to six the previous year. The top 15 athletes made a collective $221 million this year, an increase of 27 percent from 2023, according to Sportico's report.

Gauff took home $9.4 million in winnings, more than half of it coming recently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she won the WTA Finals and collected $4.805 million. It was part of another record purse, more than $15 million. Gauff was also enriched by a dozen or so endorsement contracts, including New Balance, UPS, Head, Rolex and Bose.

Second on the list was American-born freestyle skier Eileen Gu, who won two gold medals competing for China at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

The next five were WTA players. A quick accounting:

No.3 Iga Swiatek -- The 23-year-old from Poland won her fourth title at Roland Garros in five years and finished the year at No.2 in the PIF WTA Rankings with $8.4 million in winnings. Her total earnings were in excess of $21 million, including contracts with the Roger Federer-backed Swiss brand On, Lancome, Infosys, Visa and Lego.

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No.4 Zheng Qinwen -- She became the first Asian player to win an Olympic gold medal in singles this summer in Paris. The 22-year-old from China was a finalist at the Australian Open and collected $5.6 million in prize money -- $2.3 million coming as a finalist in Riyadh last month. She has an impressive and growing endorsement portfolio, including Nike, AliPay, Rolex, Gatorade, Audi, Wilson and McDonald’s.

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No.5 Aryna Sabalenka -- She finished the season as World No.1 and won half of the four Grand Slam singles titles on offer, topping all WTA Tour players with $9.7 million in winnings. Those two majors produced a generous bonus from her chief sponsor, Nike.

No.6 Naomi Osaka -- The four-time Grand Slam singles champion continued her comeback after giving birth to her daughter Shai in 2023. Her winnings were less than $1 million but eclectic endorsement contracts with Nike, Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer and Panasonic -- among others -- were worth in excess of $15 million.

No.7 Emma Raducanu -- The 2021 US Open champion underwent three surgeries in 2023, but rallied nicely in 2024, climbing back into the Top 100. Like Osaka, the 22-year-old enjoys a robust collection of high-end endorsement partners, including Nike, Tiffany, HSBC, British Airways and Dior.

For context, it’s worth mentioning that these tennis athletes finished ahead of golf star Nelly Korda, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and basketball phenomenon Caitlin Clark.

Other WTA players on Sportico's Top 15 list: French Open and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini at No.11 ($10 million), US Open finalist Jessica Pegula at No.13 ($8.2 million) and No.14 Elena Rybakina ($7.9 million). Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova just missed.

All of this individual financial success is indicative of a broader trend. Television ratings and attendance, revenue and sponsorships are all trending higher for women’s athletics.

WTA Ventures, the commercial entity of the WTA, enjoyed unprecedented growth in its first year. Established in 2023 as a strategic partnership between the WTA and CVC Capital Partners, WTA Ventures expects to increase revenue by 24 percent in its first full year, setting a new record for the WTA’s commercial revenue. 

The increase follows the launch of a new strategy to accelerate commercial growth and a series of deals with media partners and sponsors, as well as the success of the first edition of the WTA Finals in Riyadh.