With women’s sports on a financial fast break, the top 20 earners hauled in a combined $293 million this year, up 13% from 2024—and further gains look like a slam dunk.
After Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka to win the WTA Finals last month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, she didn’t just leave with a trophy. The 26-year-old tennis star also took home the largest single-event prize in women’s tennis history: a $5.235 million check.
But Rybakina is hardly the only one capitalizing on the influx of money and interest in women’s sports.
In November, for instance, LPGA Tour golfer Jeeno Thitikul claimed the CME Group Tour Championship, along with $4 million in prize money, matching the sport’s largest payday ever. And in women’s basketball, stars including Sabrina Ionescu and Angel Reese supplemented their WNBA salaries, capped this year at $249,244, by playing in the upstart winter league Unrivaled, which reportedly paid participants an average of around $220,000 in its inaugural season—and has already committed to raising wages in 2026.
Together, the world’s 20 highest-paid female athletes—a list that includes Sabalenka at No. 2, Rybakina tied for No. 8, Ionescu at No. 13, Thitikul at No. 14 and Reese at No. 15, along with superstars like No. 11 Caitlin Clark of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever—raked in $293 million this year before taxes and agent fees, according to Forbes estimates, which account for both on-field income from salaries and prize money and off-field cash from endorsements, appearances, licensing and memorabilia. That total represents a 13% increase from 2024’s $258 million. Meanwhile, the cutoff for the top 20 is up to $8.1 million, from $6.3 million a year earlier.
Coco Gauff, recently honored on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the sports category, leads the earnings ranking for the second consecutive year, pulling in an estimated $33 million over the past 12 months. While the 21-year-old tennis phenom collected roughly $8 million on the court in a season that featured her second Grand Slam singles title, at the French Open in June, the majority of her money comes from a robust endorsement portfolio that includes New Balance, Bose and Baker Tilly. No other active female athlete tops her estimated $25 million in off-court income.
Gauff, who posted an estimated $34.4 million in total compensation in 2024, is also in rarefied air historically. In the 18 years that Forbes has published a women’s earnings ranking, only two female athletes have had bigger hauls: fellow tennis aces Naomi Osaka, who is tied for No. 8 on the 2025 list at $12.5 million, and Serena Williams, who is excluded from the new list because she retired in 2022 (although she recently had to deny reports that she was mounting a comeback). Both peaked in 2021, with Osaka at $57.3 million and Williams at $45.9 million.
This year, Gauff is one of 14 athletes to surpass $10 million, besting the record of 11 set a year ago. And there could have been two more in eight figures: Because the list is limited to athletes who were active in 2025, Simone Biles, who has not competed since the 2024 Paris Olympics and has not indicated whether she will return for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, was excluded, and Venus Williams was also held off the ranking given her extremely limited schedule, with three tournaments played in 2025 and a total of five over the past two years.
Even without Biles giving the list a gymnast, it features a variety of sports, with four basketball players, two golfers, two skiers and one athlete each from two sports that have never appeared in the ranking: track and field and rugby. As usual, tennis leads the way with ten representatives, but that figure is down from 11 and 12 the past two years, and it’s a far cry from 2019, when the entire top 11 came from the sport.
Despite the momentum across the women’s sports landscape, the top-earning female athletes have a long way to go to catch their male counterparts. No woman has qualified for Forbes’ annual list of the 50 highest-paid athletes overall since 2023, and the cutoff for that ranking rose to an eye-popping $53.6 million this year—more than $20 million beyond Gauff’s total. Meanwhile, the combined income of the top 20 men on that list crossed $2.3 billion, approximately eight times the cumulative mark of this year’s highest-paid women.
The gap is partly attributable to marketing opportunities, which tend to be more plentiful and more lucrative for male athletes than for women. This year’s top 20 men made an estimated $674 million off the field, more than three times the women’s $212 million. The bigger divide, however, is on the field, with salaries, bonuses and prize money. Between the NFL, MLB and the NBA, 82 male athletes this season exceeded Gauff’s total earnings with their playing wages alone, according to contract database Spotrac.
Given that reality, 72% of the top 20 female athletes’ income this year came off the field. For the men, the ratio is almost exactly flipped, with 71% of their total from salaries, bonuses and prize money.
The gender pay gap is less severe in individual sports than in team sports, but it’s still not a level playing field. For example, Thitikul had $7.6 million in LPGA prize money in 2025 to break the tour record for the second straight season—a number that was eclipsed by 19 golfers on the PGA Tour’s official money list and 18 from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf this year. In tennis, while the four Grand Slam tournaments have paid equal prize money to men and women since 2007, smaller events don’t make the same guarantee.
“Sometimes there’s female players who are selling out some of these stadiums more than some of the other guys who are getting paid way more,” Gauff told Forbes this fall. “I think combined [WTA and ATP] events, when you look at it objectively, it doesn’t make a lot of sense why the pay gap is that large.”
Broadly speaking, the disparity comes down to revenue—men’s leagues simply make more money, and have more to spend, than women’s leagues. But while the NFL, which had $23 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, is nowhere in sight, Deloitte projected that women’s sports would collectively generate $2.35 billion this year, rising from a top line of $1.88 billion in 2024, and average team valuations are up to $272 million in the WNBA and $134 million in the NWSL, according to Forbes estimates. And the extra money will trickle back to the athletes.
The LPGA, for one, has announced a tour-record $132 million prize pool for next season—a 91% increase since 2021—and the WTA previously pledged to close the pay gap between male and female players at combined 500- and 1000-level events by 2033. In April, the Charleston Open became the first WTA 500 tournament to voluntarily equalize its prize pool, starting in 2026.
Changes are imminent in women’s basketball as well, with the WNBA and its players’ union currently renegotiating their collective bargaining agreement before an 11-year, $2.2 billion national media package takes effect in 2026. This month, the league reportedly offered to raise its minimum and maximum salaries roughly fourfold, to $225,000 and $1 million, and in addition to Unrivaled, new competitions such as Athletes Unlimited are sprouting up to bolster player pay. One upstart, Project B, is reportedly trying to entice star players with $2 million salaries for an inaugural season in 2026-27—nearly ten times what they can currently make in the WNBA.
With that kind of cash available for the first time ever, female athletes could soon be flying above the financial rim.
THE WORLD’S HIGHEST-PAID FEMALE ATHLETES 2025
#1. $33 million
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 21 | On-Field: $8 million • Off-Field: $25 million
Wuhan Open Official 2025/VCG/Getty Images
Gauff spent 2025 working on her inconsistent serve but still managed to win two singles titles, including the French Open, and become the first American with at least four finals appearances in a calendar year since Serena Williams in 2014. Business success came a bit easier. Mercedes-Benz and Chase Bank joined the 21-year-old American’s already-deep bench of sponsors, and she partnered with New Balance and fashion brand Miu Miu to create a capsule collection. Gauff, who was tennis’ third-highest-paid player this year, behind only Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, is also starting to develop TV shows, movies and digital content with studio Religion of Sports, and she split with agency Team8 to launch her own management firm, Coco Gauff Enterprises, with help from WME, writing on Instagram that the move would allow her to “take greater ownership of my career.”
#2. $30 million
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Belarus | Age: 27 | On-Field: $15 million • Off-Field: $15 million
Ending the season as the WTA Tour’s top-ranked player for the second straight year, Sabalenka led the tour with four singles titles in 2025, including her fourth career major at the U.S. Open, and set a single-season record with $15 million in prize money. The 27-year-old Belarusian also leapfrogged Venus Williams and Iga Swiatek to move into second place on the WTA’s career prize money ranking, with $45.2 million, behind only Serena Williams’ $94.8 million, and she is only the fourth female athlete ever to reach $30 million in the Forbes earnings ranking. Sabalenka, who is sponsored by brands such as Audemars Piguet and Master & Dynamic, will play a different sort of competition later this month when she takes on Nick Kyrgios in a Battle of the Sexes-style exhibition in Dubai. “I know I’m going to win that one,” she said with a laugh after another recent exhibition that featured both players.
#3. $25.1 million
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Poland | Age: 24 | On-Field: $10.1 million • Off-Field: $15 million
Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Always a contender on clay courts, with four career French Open titles, Swiatek had a breakthrough on grass this year, triumphing at Wimbledon for the first time. With 62 WTA Tour-level match victories in 2025, she became the first player to top 60 in four straight seasons since Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport, whose runs ended in 2001. Swiatek was also among the tennis stars, along with Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka, to sign a letter over the summer urging the four Grand Slam tournaments to pay players a greater share of their revenues.
#4. $23.1 million
Sport: Freestyle Skiing | Nationality: China | Age: 22 | On-Field: $0.1 million • Off-Field: $23 million
Gu’s paychecks on the slopes aren’t particularly impressive: She earned a total of roughly $40,000 for winning World Cup slopestyle and halfpipe events in January and this month and $55,000 for prevailing in halfpipe in the Snow League, the new tour founded by snowboarding legend Shaun White. But the American-born 22-year-old, who competes internationally for her mother’s native China, has a long list of lucrative endorsements including Red Bull, Porsche, IWC Schaffhausen and her latest addition, TCL electronics.
#5. $22.6 million
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: China | Age: 23 | On-Field: $1.6 million • Off-Field: $21 million
An elbow injury derailed Zheng’s season, and in her return from July surgery, she had to retire from her second match at the China Open in September. But after Zheng won Olympic gold at the Paris Olympics and reached her first major final at the Australian Open in 2024, expectations remain high for a player who has become a marketing star in her native China, with more than a dozen partners, including Alipay, Audi and Dior.
#6. $13.4 million
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 30 | On-Field: $4.4 million • Off-Field: $9 million
More than seven years after playing in her first major final, at the 2017 U.S. Open, Keys got back on the big stage at the Australian Open—and this time, she was victorious, taking down top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in three sets. No woman in tennis’ Open era had ever had such a long gap between her first two major finals. Keys, who works with brands like Brilliant Earth, IBM and MassMutual, followed with her first appearance in the top five of the WTA rankings and closed out the year at No. 7.
#7. $13 million
Sport: Golf | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 27 | On-Field: $3 million • Off-Field: $10 million
Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Korda finishes the season without an LPGA Tour victory, a year after she seemingly couldn’t lose, with seven titles in 16 starts—including five straight from January to April 2024. “It was a grind,” the 27-year-old American, who in some ways actually had a superior season statistically this year, said of 2025 in November. “Success is never linear.” Korda had a big win off the course, however, adding accounting giant EY to a sponsor stable that also includes Cisco, Delta Air Lines and Goldman Sachs.
#8 (tie). $12.5 million
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Japan | Age: 28 | On-Field: $2.5 million • Off-Field: $10 million
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Osaka showed flashes of her old form in 2025, winning her first WTA Tour title in more than four years in Saint-Malo, France, in April and climbing back into the top 20 for the first time since January 2022. Osaka, who ends the year at No. 16, also reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open.
#8 (tie). $12.5 million
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Kazakhstan | Age: 26 | On-Field: $8.5 million • Off-Field: $4 million
Rybakina’s title at Wimbledon in 2022 is still the biggest of her career, but that victory came with a check of only $2.4 million—less than half of the $5.2 million she received for going undefeated at the WTA Finals last month. The 26-year-old, who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan internationally, had 516 aces this year, the most on the WTA Tour since 2016 and 143 clear of her closest competition in 2025.
#10. $12.3 million
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 31 | On-Field: $5.3 million • Off-Field: $7 million
Pegula is a picture of consistency, winning three singles titles this season, on three different surfaces, and qualifying for the WTA Finals for the fourth straight year. But not everything was status quo in 2025. The 31-year-old late bloomer unveiled partnerships with Hyatt and Maev dog food and launched a podcast called The Player’s Box alongside three fellow tennis stars: Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk.
#11. $12.1 million
Sport: Basketball | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 23 | On-Field: $0.1 million • Off-Field: $12 million
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Clark missed 31 of the Indiana Fever’s 44 regular-season games this year, as well as their eight playoff contests, but the 23-year-old superstar recently got on the floor with Team USA, and she is once again feeling 100%, she said last month while playing at the Annika, a golf pro-am. The event clearly demonstrated the influence of Clark, who sold more jerseys on Fanatics last fall than any other pro basketball player not named Stephen Curry and has a forthcoming signature shoe from Nike. To leverage her appearance on the course, the Golf Channel expanded its coverage of the tournament, live-streaming her warm-up and conducting a walk-and-talk in-round interview.
#12. $11.3 million
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 24 | On-Field: $7.3 million • Off-Field: $4 million
Ranked No. 36 to start the year, Anisimova ascended all the way to No. 4 as she won the first two WTA 1000 titles of her career and reached the final at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. In a recent interview with ABC News, the 24-year-old American credited a break she took from tennis in 2023 for helping her reach a new level on the court. “I feel like I’ve almost restarted my career in a way,” said Anisimova, who was later honored at the annual WTA Awards as the tour’s most improved player. “I feel that I’ve really been able to be more myself and more free.”
#13. $10.5 million
Sport: Basketball | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 28 | On-Field: $0.5 million • Off-Field: $10 million
Coming off a championship in 2024, Ionescu’s New York Liberty were ousted in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, but the 28-year-old guard’s year was plenty successful, even beyond her fourth straight appearance on an all-WNBA team. Ionescu picked up sponsors in fintech firm Ant International and Away luggage, joined the ownership group of the NWSL’s Bay FC and was featured in two Super Bowl commercials, for Michelob Ultra and Nike. Meanwhile, her signature shoe is among the most popular models from the Swoosh.
#14. $10.3 million
Sport: Golf | Nationality: Thailand | Age: 22 | On-Field: $8.3 million • Off-Field: $2 million
Thitikul’s back-to-back victories at the CME Group Tour Championship have earned her $8 million, and pushed her all the way to No. 7 on the LPGA Tour’s career prize money list, at $17.4 million. With another winner’s check at the event, the 22-year-old would be closing in on the top spot in the ranking, currently the retired Annika Sorenstam’s $22.6 million. Thitikul has already broken one LPGA record, for single-season scoring average, with a 68.68 mark in 2025.
#15. $9.4 million
Sport: Basketball | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 23 | On-Field: $0.4 million • Off-Field: $9 million
Evan Bernstein/Getty Images
Only two years into her pro career, Reese has become one of the faces of the WNBA, launching a signature shoe with Reebok, walking the runway in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, making a cameo appearance in Netflix disaster thriller A House of Dynamite and appearing on the cover of some editions of the video game NBA 2K26. She has one clear motivation to stay busy. “The WNBA don’t pay my bills at all,” Reese, who had a salary of $74,909 this year with the Chicago Sky, said on Instagram Live in October 2024. “I don’t even think it pays one of my bills. Literally.”
#16. $9.1 million
Sport: Basketball | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 24 | On-Field: $0.1 million • Off-Field: $9 million
Bueckers, who like Coco Gauff was honored this month on the Forbes 30 Under 30 sports list, was a nearly unanimous winner of the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year Award and was a second-team all-WNBA selection after going No. 1 overall in the league’s draft in April. In November, the 24-year-old guard became a No. 1 pick for the second time, in Unrivaled’s draft. On top of her 16 partnerships, with companies including Coach, DoorDash and Intuit, Bueckers has an equity stake in Good Eat’n, a snack brand founded by NBA star Chris Paul, and she is set to produce and star in an Apple movie called Jess & Pearl.
#17. $8.3 million
Sport: Tennis | Nationality: Italy | Age: 29 | On-Field: $5.3 million • Off-Field: $3 million
Paolini, who reached two Grand Slam singles finals in 2024, won her first major title this year, in doubles at the French Open. Her partner, Sara Errani, will be working even closer with the 29-year-old Italian next year, after being hired as a member of Paolini’s coaching staff. Off the court, Paolini has gained several new sponsors this year, including Amazfit smartwatches, Alfa Romeo, Fulfil protein bars, Golden Goose sneakers and Purina pet food.
#18 (tie). $8.2 million
Sport: Track and Field | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 26 | On-Field: $0.2 million • Off-Field: $8 million
Julian Finney/Getty Images
Named female athlete of the year at the World Athletics Awards, McLaughlin-Levrone nearly matched a 40-year-old record in the 400 meters at the track and field world championships in September—not even her best event. (That would be the 400-meter hurdles, where she already owns the world record.) As she looks toward the 2028 Olympics, McLaughlin-Levrone, who is sponsored by brands such as Gatorade, Neutrogena and TAG Heuer, is considering running in both events, or perhaps the 200 meters, or maybe even competing in the long jump. “I really would love to get back to that if it makes sense,” the former high school jumper told NBC News.
#18 (tie). $8.2 million
Sport: Skiing | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 41 | On-Field: $0.2 million • Off-Field: $8 million
Five years after retiring, Vonn returned to the slopes in December 2024 thanks to a partial knee replacement, and she made it back onto the World Cup podium at a super-G race in Sun Valley, Idaho, in March. The 41-year-old American then added 12 pounds of muscle over the summer, and it paid off last week with a downhill victory that made her the oldest winner of a World Cup race in the circuit’s 58-year history. Vonn is not shy about her goal: qualifying for the Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, in February. “I am not a long shot,” the three-time Olympic medalist, who has partnered with Land Rover, Rolex and more than ten other brands, recently told Time. “I am back in the game.”
#20. $8.1 million
Sport: Rugby | Nationality: U.S. | Age: 29 | On-Field: $0.1 million • Off-Field: $8 million
With more than 9 million followers between TikTok and Instagram, Maher is not your typical rugby player. Coming off her first season with the Bristol Bears in England’s Premiership Women’s Rugby league, the 29-year-old center brought the sport new attention by playing for Team USA at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in August and September, and she works with more than 20 brands, including Adidas, Coppertone sunscreen and Maybelline. Maher also served as the model for a Barbie doll that will hit shelves in 2026.
METHODOLOGY
The Forbes ranking of the world’s highest-paid female athletes reflects earnings from the calendar year 2025. The on-field earnings figures, which are rounded to the nearest $100,000, include base salaries, bonuses, stipends and prize money. The off-field earnings estimates, which are rounded to the nearest $1 million, are determined through conversations with industry insiders and reflect annual cash from endorsements, licensing, appearances and memorabilia, as well as cash returns from any businesses in which the athlete has a significant interest. Forbes does not include investment income like interest payments or dividends but does account for payouts from equity stakes athletes have sold. Forbes does not deduct for taxes or agents’ fees.
The list includes athletes who were active during the 12-month period. Venus Williams was also excluded because of her limited schedule, with three tournaments played in 2025 and a total of five over the past two years.