Top 10 highest paid female athletes in 2023

Published at :December 7, 2023 at 5:55 PM

Modified at :December 30, 2023 at 1:59 PM

Tennis dominates the list with seven players.

Being a sportsperson is not only about performance and fan following but also about the payday that comes with it. This list reveals the top 10 highest paid female athletes for 2023, based on their earnings from prize money, endorsements, and other sources. It also highlights their significant achievements, the lucrative deals that propelled them to the top earners list, and the financial success that accompanied it.

It is no surprise that as many as seven tennis players are on this list. Billie Jean King set up the WTA to collectively push for equal prize money on par with the men. Her efforts ensured that the US Open was the first major Grand Slam to offer equal prize money to men and women. In this article let’s discuss the list of highest paid female athletes.

Highest paid female athletes in 2023

10. Nelly Korda – $7.9 million

Nelly Korda, the eight-time LPGA winner may not have made a mark in 2023, but her sponsor portfolio made up for her lackluster year on the golf course. The 2021 Women’s PGA Championship winner inked lucrative deals with Nike and TaylorMade at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, she signed up with another pair of international brands, Delta Airlines and Goldman Sachs.

9. Simone Biles – $8.5 million

Simone Biles returned to the crossbars in 2023 after a two-year hiatus, proving her dominance once again, winning four golds at the Gymnastics World Championships. She boasts of a record 30 career medals at the event, including 23 golds. Thanks to her efforts, the US has won a record-breaking seventh consecutive world team title. Her string of sponsors includes Athleta, GK, Powerade, and Spieth America.

Coco Gauff — at just 19 years old — is now the world’s highest paid female athlete, earning $22.7 million last year.Seven out of the top ten were tennis players.(h/t @kbadenhausen) pic.twitter.com/aFljdpQ5gE
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) December 6, 2023

8. Jessica Pegula – $9 million

Jessica Pegula is a bit of a late bloomer, going from No. 83 singles rankings in 2020 to an all-time high of No. 3. Moreover, she is yet to make it past the quarter-final stage of a Grand Slam. Pegula reached the WTA Finals summit clash at Cancun, losing to Iga Swiatek. Her wins in 2023 came at Montreal and South Korea, the former being a Masters 1000 event.

While Adidas is her primary sponsor, her portfolio includes Yones and Ready Nutrition. The 29-year-old is at the helm of the skincare line Ready 24. are apparel makers Nike and Wilson, who supply her with the rackets she uses on the WTA tour.

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7. Elena Rybakina – $9.5 million

Elena Rybakina, who won the 2022 Wimbledon title, reached the finals at three WTA 1000 events in Rome, Miami, and Indian Wells, winning at Rome and Indian Wells this year. She is also a runner-up at the 2023 Australian Open, where she lost to Sabalenka. The Kazakh has a tie-up with Yonex as her clothing sponsor alongside using their racket. Red Bull and Bank RBK are among her other sponsors.

6. Aryna Sabalenka – $12.2 million

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka is sixth on the list of highest-paid female athletes of 2023. Sabalenka bagged three titles in 2023 at Adelaide, the Australian Open, and the Madrid Open. She also reached the finals at Flushing Meadows and the semifinals at Wimbledon and Roland Garros. The Belarusian gained the coveted World No. 1 ranking for the first time in her career following her US Open deep run.

5. Naomi Osaka – $15 million

Naomi Osaka took a break from tennis and hasn’t played competitively since September 2022 due to an illness and pregnancy. The four-time grand slam winner has announced plans to return to the court at the Australian Open in January. The 25-year-old gave birth in July. Before the Australian Open, she will be seen in action at the Brisbane International, where Rafael Nadal and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka will also be playing.

Osaka sponsors include the likes of Nike, Nissan, Shiseido, Citizen, and Yonex. The American-Japanese player is also the face of Victoria’s Secret’s VS Collective.

4. Emma Raducanu – $16.2 million

Emma Raducanu, who was sidelined in 2023 after undergoing surgical procedures on her ankle and hands, looks to return to the tour in 2024 with the Australian Open with the benefit of a wildcard. She aims to get back to the form that fetched her the 2021 US Open title and endorsement deals from the likes of Dior, HSBC, and Porsche. Emma Raducanu was bestowed with the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by King Charles in November last year for her services to the sport of tennis.

Raducanu will be facing World No. 6 Ons Jabeur in an exhibition match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.

3. Eileen Gu – $20 million

Eileen Gu, who represents China, is a freestyle skier. At age 18, Gu earned the mantle of youngest-ever Olympic champion in freestyle skiing. She bagged gold medals in the big air and halfpipe events, with a silver medal following in slopestyle at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The three-medal streak made her the first freestyle skier to accomplish the feat at a single Winter Olympics. Gu has endorsement contracts with global luxury houses Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. and watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen.

2. Iga Swiatek – $21.9 million

Iga Swiatek won her third French Open trophy in 2023 – fourth overall. She is tied with Naomi Osaka who also has four Grand Slam wins under her belt. The Pole is currently spending her 80th week on top of the WTA rankings. Swiatek has IMG, Oshee sports drinks, On Shoes a Swiss sportswear company, with whom she inked a head-to-toe deal, and Visa, among her list of sponsors.

1. Coco Gauff – $22.7 million

Coco Gauff won the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Wahington D.C – her first singles title in the USA, and followed it up by winning the Western & Southern Open – a WTA 1000 event. The icing on the cake for Gauff was winning the 2023 US Open title at just 19, making her the youngest American to be crowned as U.S. Open champion since Serena Williams, who won the title in 1999 at age 17. Gauff has deals with New Balance, Barilla, UPS, Bose, Baker Tilly accounting, and Rolex among her sponsors.

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