Richest Female Athletes in the World: Serena Leads a Tennis-Heavy Top 10

Serena Williams is worth an estimated US$400 million, more than any other woman who made her fortune in sport, and seven of the 10 richest female athletes built their wealth on a tennis court.

Serena Williams is the richest female athlete in the world, with Forbes estimating her net worth at US$400 million (about A$572 million). Nobody else is close. Maria Sharapova sits a distant second at around US$180 million, less than half of Serena's figure.

The pattern behind the list is simple. Women's sport still pays far less in prize money and salaries than men's, so the richest sportswomen are the ones who turned fame into endorsements, equity and businesses.

Tennis dominates because it has offered equal prize money at the majors for years, a global TV audience and the deepest pool of sponsor dollars in women's sport.

A quick note on the numbers. Net worth is an estimate of what someone owns, not what they earn in a year, and only Forbes publishes properly researched figures for a handful of sportswomen.

Where Forbes has no current figure, we use Celebrity Net Worth and say so. All amounts are in US dollars as reported, with Australian dollar conversions at US$1 = A$1.43 (rate as at 6 October 2026). Prize money totals come from the official WTA and LPGA records.

The 10 Richest Female Athletes at a Glance

• Serena Williams (tennis): US$400 million (A$572 million)
• Maria Sharapova (tennis): US$180 million (A$257 million)
• Naomi Osaka (tennis): US$120 million (A$172 million)
• Danica Patrick (motorsport): US$80 million (A$114 million)
• Venus Williams (tennis): US$65 million (A$93 million)
• Li Na (tennis): US$60 million (A$86 million)
• Coco Gauff (tennis): US$50 million (A$72 million)
• Eileen Gu (freestyle skiing): US$50 million (A$72 million)
• Annika Sorenstam (golf): US$40 million (A$57 million)
• Iga Swiatek (tennis): US$30 million (A$43 million)

Each entry below covers how she made it, plus the numbers that matter.

1. Serena Williams: US$400 Million (A$572 Million)

Serena is the benchmark. Forbes values her at US$400 million. She first made its list of America's Richest Self-Made Women back in 2019, the first athlete ever to do so.

The tennis alone was historic. Her 23 Grand Slam singles titles came with US$94.97 million of official prize money, still the most of any woman by a margin of more than US$40 million. Yet estimates based on Forbes figures put her off-court income at more than double her on-court haul.

That money came from a long list of sponsors (Nike, Gatorade and Wilson among them) and, increasingly, from investing. Serena Ventures, the venture capital firm she launched in 2014, has backed more than a dozen companies later valued at over US$1 billion. She also holds stakes in the Miami Dolphins and Angel City FC.

Retirement hasn't slowed the cash flow. Forbes' 2026 tennis rich list, published in August, put her third among all players with US$40.1 million in the previous 12 months, almost all of it off the court and more than any other woman.

She even returned to the court in 2026. She played singles at Wimbledon on a wildcard, losing in the first round to Australian Maya Joint, during which she sustained a knee injury. She later played doubles events including Queen's, where she withdraw due to her teammate Victoria Mboko's injury, and then teamed up with Venus at the US Open, where the sisters lost in the first round to Chan Hao-ching and Joint.

2. Maria Sharapova: US$180 Million (A$257 Million)

Sharapova was the original sportswoman-as-brand. Forbes named her the world's highest-paid female athlete for 11 straight years, and she sat just behind Serena on its 2020 self-made women list with an estimated US$200 million. Celebrity Net Worth now puts her at US$180 million.

Her five Grand Slam titles, including the career Grand Slam, earned US$38.78 million WTA prize money. That is a fraction of the total.

Celebrity Net Worth estimates her career earnings as roughly US$285 million, with endorsements doing the heavy lifting: Nike, Canon, TAG Heuer and Tiffany & Co. all signed her, and her 2010 Nike extension was reported at US$70 million over eight years.

She also built her own product. Sugarpova, the premium confectionery brand she launched in 2012, gave her a revenue stream independent of tennis.

And her property instincts are sharp: in August 2025 she sold her Manhattan Beach mansion to Luka Doncic for a reported US$25 million, a home she bought the land for in 2012 for around US$4 million.

3. Naomi Osaka: US$120 Million (A$172 Million)

Osaka is the clearest example of how quickly endorsement money can stack up. Her four Grand Slam titles (two US Opens, two Australian Opens) brought in US$27.20 million prize money, yet Celebrity Net Worth puts her net worth at US$120 million.

The difference is the brand. Forbes estimated she earned US$57.3 million in 2021, making her the world's highest-paid female athlete that year, with Nike, Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer and Mastercard among her partners.

She has also moved into ownership: skincare brand Kinlo, media company Hana Kuma (built with LeBron James' SpringHill Company) and sports agency Evolve, which she co-founded with her agent.

She was also the first Asian player to reach world No. 1 in singles, which goes a long way to explaining her pull with sponsors across Japan and the US.

4. Danica Patrick: US$80 Million (A$114 Million)

Patrick is the only non-tennis player in the top five, and she got there by being both a pioneer and a marketing machine. Celebrity Net Worth puts her at US$80 million.

On track, her 2008 win at the Indy Japan 300 remains the only victory by a woman in an IndyCar Series race, and in 2013 she became the first woman to take pole for the Daytona 500.

Off it, she was earning more than US$10 million a year at her peak, with GoDaddy's Super Bowl ads making her one of the most recognisable athletes in America. Since retiring in 2018 she has built a wine label (Somnium), an athleisure line and a media career.

Punters who follow open-wheel racing will know how rare her IndyCar win remains; our IndyCar vs Formula 1 explainer covers how the two series differ, and our F1 drivers net worth list shows how her fortune stacks up against the men's grid.

5. Venus Williams: US$65 Million (A$93 Million)

Venus made the tennis money possible for everyone else on this list, so it's fitting she sits on it. Celebrity Net Worth estimates her net worth at US$65 million, although plenty of older estimates still quote a figure closer to US$95 million.

Her seven Grand Slam singles titles, 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with Serena and four Olympic gold medals earned US$43.35 million in prize money, fourth on the WTA's all-time list. Her biggest win may have been off the court: she led the push that delivered equal prize money at Wimbledon in 2007.

Business has always been part of the plan. She runs the activewear label EleVen and the interior design firm V Starr, and she finished a business degree in 2015. At 46, she is still competing too.

6. Li Na: US$60 Million (A$86 Million)

Li Na is proof of how big the Chinese market is for sponsors. She won the French Open in 2011, the first Grand Slam singles title by any Chinese player, then added the Australian Open in 2014 before retiring that September.

Her prize money (US$16.71 million) is modest next to the names above, but Celebrity Net Worth estimates she was making about US$ 18 million a year at her peak, mostly from endorsements, and values her at US$60 million today.

She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2019, the first Asian-born player to receive that honour.

7. Coco Gauff: US$50 Million (A$72 Million)

Gauff is the youngest player in the top 10 and the one with the most upside. Celebrity Net Worth puts her net worth at US$50 million, which looks conservative given what she is earning.

Forbes named her the world's highest-paid female athlete for both 2024 and 2025, with US$33 million last year, US$25 million of it from sponsors including New Balance, Rolex and Mercedes-Benz.

Her two Grand Slam titles (the 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open) help explain why, and her official prize money already sits at US$36.84 million, ninth on the WTA's all-time list. At 22, she is likely to keep climbing this ranking for a decade.

8. Eileen Gu: US$50 Million (A$72 Million)

Gu is tied with Gauff on US$50 million (Celebrity Net Worth), and she has earned hers almost entirely away from competition. Forbes estimated her 2025 earnings at US$23.1 million, of which just US$100,000 came from results.

The results are elite, though. Gu won gold in halfpipe plus silver in big air and slopestyle at Milano Cortina 2026, adding to her two golds and a silver from Beijing 2022. That is six Olympic medals from six events, making her the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history, male or female.

Competing for China while growing up in San Francisco, and studying at Stanford, she has become one of the most marketable athletes in the world, with luxury fashion, beauty and car brands on her books.

9. Annika Sorenstam: US$40 Million (A$57 Million)

Sorenstam is the richest golfer on the list and arguably the most dominant athlete of her era. She won 72 LPGA events and 10 majors, shot the first 59 in LPGA history in 2001 and played against the men at the PGA Tour's Colonial in 2003.

Her official LPGA earnings of US$22.58 million are still the tour's all-time record, although Lydia Ko and Nelly Korda were both within about US$260,000 of it in October 2026.

Celebrity Net Worth values Sorenstam at US$40 million, built on sponsors such as Callaway, Mercedes and Rolex plus the ANNIKA brand, which covers an academy, a foundation and course design.

For more on how golf's money is shared out, our highest-paid golfers guide breaks down the men's side.

10. Iga Swiatek: US$30 Million (A$43 Million)

Swiatek rounds out the top 10. Celebrity Net Worth's estimate of US$30 million has not caught up with her recent run, so treat it as a floor: her official prize money alone is US$47.94 million, third on the WTA's all-time list behind Serena and Aryna Sabalenka.

She has six Grand Slam singles titles, including four French Opens and a 6-0, 6-0 Wimbledon final win in 2025.

Her sponsors include Rolex, Porsche, Lancome, Red Bull and On, and she was the first female tennis player signed by On, the Swiss brand backed by Roger Federer. Forbes estimated her 2025 earnings at US$25.1 million, third among all women.

Highest-Paid Female Athletes Right Now

The richest list rewards long careers. The highest-paid list shows who is making the most money today, and the latest full Forbes ranking (published 16 December 2025, covering calendar year 2025) looks like this:

• Coco Gauff (tennis): US$33 million (A$47 million)
• Aryna Sabalenka (tennis): US$30 million (A$43 million)
• Iga Swiatek (tennis): US$25.1 million (A$36 million)
• Eileen Gu (freestyle skiing): US$23.1 million (A$33 million)
• Zheng Qinwen (tennis): US$22.6 million (A$32 million)
• Madison Keys (tennis): US$13.4 million (A$19 million)
• Nelly Korda (golf): US$13 million (A$19 million)
• Naomi Osaka (tennis): US$12.5 million (A$18 million)
• Elena Rybakina (tennis): US$12.5 million (A$18 million)
• Jessica Pegula (tennis): US$12.3 million (A$18 million)

Eight of the top 10 are tennis players. Basketball's boom shows up just below, with Caitlin Clark 11th on US$12.1 million according to Forbes’ December 2025 list, nearly all of it from sponsors rather than her WNBA salary.

Forbes also found off-feild income makes up 72% of what the top 20 women earn, against 29% of the top 20 men, and the women’s combined US$293 million was roughly an eighth of the men's.

Sportico's rival list, released in early December 2025, agreed on the order at the top, with Gauff on US$31 million ahead of Sabalenka (US$30 million) and Swiatek (US$23.1 million).

There is fresher data, too. Forbes' 2026 tennis rich list, covering the 12 months to late August, had six women in the top 10 for the first time: Serena (US$40.1 million), Sabalenka (US$36.1 million), Gauff (US$35.5 million), Zheng (US$22.6 million), Swiatek (US$20.5 million) and Rybakina (US$17.4 million).

Sabalenka is the one to watch on the richest list. Her WTA prize money of US$53.28 million is second only to Serena's, but no credible net worth estimate has caught up with her yet, which is why she sits outside our top 10 for now.

Rybakina's 2026 is the reason the next Forbes list could look different. She won the Australian Open and the US Open, beating Sabalenka in both finals, and the next edition of Forbes' female athletes ranking is due in December.

Our highest-paid athletes ranking covers the men's side of the ledger, and our richest tennis players guide compares the women with Federer, Djokovic and company. For the latest women's tennis odds and markets, check out our dedicated tennis odds page here at Sportsbet.

The Richest Australian Female Athletes

No Australian woman has a credible published net worth estimate, so the fairest comparison is career prize money from the official tour records. On that measure, tennis and golf lead the way again:

• Ash Barty (tennis): US$23.8 million(A$34 million)
• Karrie Webb (golf): US$20.3 million(A$29 million)
• Sam Stosur (tennis): US$20.07 million(A$29 million)
• Minjee Lee (golf): US$19.05 million(A$27 million)
• Daria Kasatkina (tennis): More than US$15 million (over A$21 million)

Barty earned hers in a hurry. She won three Grand Slam singles titles (the 2019 French Open, 2021 Wimbledon and 2022 Australian Open) and retired in March 2022 as world No. 1, aged 25.

Her 2019 WTA Finals cheque of US$4.42 million was, at the time, the biggest single payday in tennis history. Our Australian Open prize money guide shows how much those pay packets have grown since.

Webb won seven majors, more than any other Australian golfer, male or female, and Minjee Lee is closing on her earnings. Lee won her third major at the 2025 Women's PGA Championship and sits inside the LPGA's all-time top 10 for earnings.

Stosur won the 2011 US Open, while Kasatkina has represented Australia since switching nationality in 2025, so most of her prize money was earned under a different flag.

Team-sport stars such as Sam Kerr and Ellyse Perry are among the best-paid athletes in their competitions, but there are no reliable figures for their total wealth, so we have left them off rather than guess.

Richest Female Athletes FAQ

Who is the richest female athlete in the world?

Serena Williams. Forbes estimates her net worth at US$400 million (about A$572 million), built on US$94.97 million in prize money plus endorsements and her investment firm, Serena Ventures.

Is any female athlete a billionaire?

No. Serena Williams is the closest at an estimated US$400 million. Several male athletes, including Michael Jordan and Le Bron James, have passed US$ 1 billion, as our richest NBA players list shows.

Who is the highest-paid female athlete?

Coco Gauff. Forbes' most recent ranking had her on top for the second straight year with US$33 million 2025, ahead of Aryna Sabalenka (US$30 million) and Iga Swiatek (US$25.1 million).

Which female tennis player has won the most prize money?

Serena Williams, with US$94.97 million. Aryna Sabalenka is second onUS$53.28 million and Iga Swiatek third on US$47.94 million, according to the WTA's all-time list as at 11 October 2026.

Who is the richest Australian female athlete?

There is no reliable net worth figure for any Australian sportswoman. On career prize money, Ash Barty leads with US$23.83 million(about A$34 million), ahead of golfer Karrie Webb on US$20.3 million.