Women’s sports are gaining significant momentum, and this growing trend is finally starting to boost players’ salaries. Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark, who played a key role in driving record attendance and viewership for the WNBA, earned an estimated $8.1 million this year, matching the women’s basketball record set last year by the retired Candace Parker. Thai golfer Jeeno Thitikul earned a $4 million check at the CME Group Tour Championship in November, marking the largest prize in women’s golf history, while her LPGA Tour rival Nelly Korda totaled an estimated $12.5 million in earnings, the highest figure for a female golfer in the 17 years Forbes has tracked women’s sports earnings.
At the same time, 20-year-old tennis sensation Coco Gauff’s estimated $34.4 million marks one of the best years ever recorded by a female athlete, ranking behind only Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, who reached $57.3 million and $45.9 million in total earnings, respectively, on Forbes’ 2021 list.
The 20 highest-paid female athletes—featuring Korda at No. 8, Thitikul at No. 12, Clark at No. 13, and the top-ranked Gauff—earned a total of over $258 million in 2024. This amount slightly surpasses the $258 million earned by the top 20 in 2022, when Osaka and Williams combined for more than $92 million, and marks a 15% increase over 2023’s $226 million.
However, the total earnings of the women still account for less than 12% of the combined earnings of the top 20 male athletes, who earned an estimated $2.23 billion on Forbes’ 2024 list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, based on the 12 months ending in May. (No women were included in the top 50 of that ranking.)
Historically, female athletes have had fewer and lower-paying endorsement deals than their male counterparts—the top 20 women earned an estimated $191 million off the field this year, compared to $624 million for the men. However, the most significant disparity lies on the field, in playing salaries, bonuses, and prize money. For example, the WNBA’s “supermax” salary was $241,984 this season. In contrast, 41 NBA players will surpass Gauff’s total earnings with their salaries alone this season, according to contract database Spotrac.
The gap is narrower in individual sports, but disparities remain. In golf, Thitikul set a new LPGA Tour record for single-season prize money in 2024, earning $6.1 million—less than the earnings of 33 men from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf this year. In tennis, while the four Grand Slam tournaments now offer equal prize money for men and women, smaller tournaments do not provide the same guarantee.
Overall, only four of the 20 highest-paid female athletes earned more on the field than off it, with the on-field earnings of the top 20 totaling $68 million, accounting for 26% of their overall income—mostly driven by tennis players. In contrast, the top 20 male athletes earned 72% of their total from on-field income, nearly the opposite ratio of the women’s.
The pay disparity begins with revenue—women’s leagues simply have smaller funds to draw from. However, this may be starting to shift. The WNBA is set to receive $200 million annually in national TV money as part of the NBA’s 11-year, $76 billion media deals signed over the summer, a sixfold increase from its previous ESPN agreement, according to Sportico. The LPGA Tour will offer $131 million in purses across 33 tournaments next year, a 90% increase since 2021, while the WTA Tour has committed to achieving equal pay for male and female tennis players at combined 500- and 1000-level events by 2033.
Meanwhile, the NWSL, which has attracted investment from high-profile figures like Disney CEO Bob Iger, agreed to abolish its draft and introduce a free-agent system as part of a collective bargaining agreement announced in August. Additionally, new women’s leagues are emerging in sports like hockey (the Professional Women’s Hockey League), softball (the Athletes Unlimited Softball League), and basketball (Unrivaled), among others.
In another positive indication of the increasing financial viability of women’s professional sports, the list of the highest-paid female athletes is becoming more diverse, though still largely dominated by tennis. This year’s ranking features three golfers, two basketball players, a soccer player, a gymnast, a freestyle skier, and a badminton player. (Just five years ago, the entire top 10 was made up of tennis players.)
According to Forbes estimates, 11 athletes surpassed $10 million in earnings this year—the first time more than eight have reached that milestone—and 17 of the top 20 are under 30. In fact, the median age is just 26, indicating that many of these athletes’ peak years may still be ahead of them.
#1. $34.4 million
Coco Gauff
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 20 | On-Field: $9.4 million • Off-Field: $25 million
Gauff served as Team USA’s co-flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in July, and although her performance slipped a bit over the summer, she returned to top form in the fall, winning the China Open and the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Her victory at the WTA Finals earned her a $4.8 million prize, but the 20-year-old star earns even more off the court. She recently added Carol’s Daughter, Fanatics, and Naked Juice to her growing list of long-term partners, which now includes 11 brands. Additionally, she appeared on Wheaties boxes during the U.S. Open, celebrating her title win in Flushing Meadows the previous year.
#2. $23.8 million
Iga Świątek
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Poland | Age: 23 | On-Field: $8.8 million • Off-Field: $15 million
Świątek topped the 2023 female athletes’ ranking with an estimated $23.9 million and finishes this year within $100,000 of that total, with Lancôme and Lego joining her impressive list of sponsors. However, the 23-year-old faced some challenges, including parting ways with her coach and losing the No. 1 singles ranking after 50 consecutive weeks at the top. Most notably, in November, it was revealed that she had tested positive for a banned substance three months earlier. However, the International Tennis Integrity Agency determined that the result was unintentional, caused by contamination in the melatonin she was taking for sleep issues, and issued only a one-month suspension.
#3. $22.1 million
Eileen Gu
Sport: Freestyle skiing | Nationality: China | Age: 21 | On-Field: $0.1 million • Off-Field: $22 million
Gu has secured lucrative endorsement deals with Western brands like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., and the newly added Porsche, as well as Chinese brands such as Anta sportswear, Bosideng jackets, and Mengniu Dairy. With her 16th World Cup victory this month, she tied for the career freeskiing lead. However, some Chinese social media users have criticized Gu, who was born in San Francisco and competes for her mother’s native China, accusing her of being “unpatriotic” and “two-faced.” In response, Gu posted on the short-video app Douyin: “In the past five years, I’ve represented China in 41 international competitions and won 39 medals for China. What have you done for the country?”
#4. $20.6 million
Qinwen Zheng
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: China | Age: 22 | On-Field: $5.6 million • Off-Field: $15 million
In the past two years, Zheng had earned the WTA Tour’s Newcomer of the Year and Most Improved Player Awards, but she took her game to the next level in 2024, reaching the Australian Open final and winning gold in singles at the Paris Olympics. Her success has turned her into a major star in China, with brands like Audi, milk tea chain Chagee, Lancôme, and phone maker Vivo signing her as an ambassador. Her rapid rise has already led to comparisons with fellow Chinese tennis star Li Na, who won two Grand Slam titles and ranked among the top 10 highest-paid female athletes from 2011 to 2014.
#5. $18.7 million
Aryna Sabalenka
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Belarus | Age: 26 | On-Field: $9.7 million • Off-Field: $9 million
Sabalenka overtook her rival Iga Świątek to claim the No. 1 tennis ranking and earned the WTA Player of the Year Award after winning the Australian Open, the U.S. Open, and two other tournaments. She also topped the tour with $9.7 million in prize money, surpassing Coco Gauff’s $9.4 million. Off the court, she secured endorsement deals with Audemars Piguet watches, Master & Dynamic headphones, and the açaí bowl chain Oakberry.
#6 (tie). $12.9 million
Naomi Osaka
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Japan | Age: 27 | On-Field: $0.9 million • Off-Field: $12 million
Osaka made her return to the court on the first day of the year after taking 2023 off to give birth to her first child. It wasn’t an easy journey for the four-time major champion, who shared in a powerful Instagram post in August, “My biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body.” Despite facing injury struggles in recent years, she competed in 19 events and worked her way back up to No. 58 in the singles rankings, recovering from a low of No. 833 during her time off. Osaka also maintains more than a dozen sponsorships and is a co-founder of the production company Hana Kuma, which is partnering with the LPGA Tour to create athlete-driven campaigns and is developing an anime series featuring Osaka as a voice actor.
#6 (tie). $12.9 million
Emma Raducanu
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: U.K. | Age: 22 | On-Field: $0.9 million • Off-Field: $12 million
Raducanu continues to benefit from a range of lucrative partnerships she secured after her stunning 2021 U.S. Open victory at 18, with brands like British Airways, Dior, and HSBC. However, she has faced a series of injuries, illnesses, and inconsistent performances since her breakout. Now ranked 57th in the world, she enters 2025 with a new fitness coach, the highly respected Yutaka Nakamura, who previously worked with Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka, as she continues to pursue her second career WTA tournament win.
#8. $12.5 million
Nelly Korda
Sport: Golf | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 26 | On-Field: $4.5 million • Off-Field: $8 million
Korda matched an LPGA Tour record this year with five consecutive tournament wins and, despite dealing with a neck injury, ended 2024 with seven titles, the most by any player on the tour since 2011. Her $4.4 million in LPGA prize money also set a new tour record, though she was surpassed by Jeeno Thitikul, who earned $6.1 million. Korda also claimed the LPGA’s Player of the Year Award and finished the year with the No. 1 ranking. Off the course, she added Tumi to her already impressive list of sponsorships, making her the top sponsor-endorsed player in women’s golf.
#9. $12.1 million
Venus Williams
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 44 | On-Field: $0.1 million • Off-Field: $12 million
Williams competed in just two events this year, both resulting in first-round losses, as she winds down a legendary career that includes seven Grand Slam singles titles. However, while endorsement deals typically depend on a player’s ranking, the 44-year-old is far from a typical No. 977 player. She remains active on the speaking circuit, earning six figures per engagement, and continues her work as an ambassador and entrepreneur. One of her latest ventures is Palazzo, an AI-powered interior design platform, and she was also the inspiration for a unique Barbie doll created for the toy’s 65th anniversary celebration.
#10. $11.2 million
Simone Biles
Sport: Gymnastics | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 27 | On-Field: $0.2 million • Off-Field: $11 million
After a bout with “the twisties” prevented her from competing in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Biles made a triumphant return to the Summer Games this year, securing three gold medals and a silver in Paris. Her comeback was documented in the Netflix docuseries Simone Biles Rising, and she celebrated with a series of exhibitions called the Gold Over America Tour—GOAT—honoring her undisputed title as gymnastics’ greatest of all time.
Others Highest-Paid Female Athletes
#11. $10.2 million
Jessica Pegula
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 30 | On-Field: $4.2 million • Off-Field: $6 million
#12. $9.3 million
Jeeno Thitikul
Sport: Golf | Nationality: Thailand | Age: 21 | On-Field: $7.3 million • Off-Field: $2 million
#13. $8.1 million
Caitlin Clark
Sport: Basketball | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 22 | On-Field: $0.1 million • Off-Field: $8 million
#14. $8 million
Jasmine Paolini
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Italy | Age: 28 | On-Field: $6.5 million • Off-Field: $1.5 million
#15. $7.9 million
Elena Rybakina
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Kazakhstan | Age: 25 | On-Field: $3.9 million • Off-Field: $4 million
#16. $7.6 million
Alex Morgan
Sport: Soccer | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 35 | On-Field: $0.6 million • Off-Field: $7 million
#17. $7.1 million
P.V. Sindhu
Sport: Badminton | Nationality: India | Age: 29 | On-Field: $0.1 million • Off-Field: $7 million
#18. $6.5 million
Leylah Fernandez
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Canada | Age: 22 | On-Field: $1.5 million • Off-Field: $5 million
#19 (tie). $6.3 million
Sabrina Ionescu
Sport: Basketball | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 27 | On-Field: $0.3 million • Off-Field: $6 million
#19 (tie). $6.3 million
Lydia Ko
Sport: Golf | Nationality: New Zealand | Age: 27 | On-Field: $3.3 million • Off-Field: $3 million
