Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Sensational Sharapova: 11 years of domination and counting!

August 13, 2015 09:54 IST

Sharapova is top female athlete earner eleventh straight year

Maria Sharapova

Russia's Maria Sharapova is the world's highest-paid female athlete. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Tennis star Maria Sharapova again tops the list of highest earning female athletes over the past year, according to Forbes.

For the 11th consecutive year, the Russian heads a list dominated by tennis players, who occupy seven of the top 10 spots.

 Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova's estimated earnings are $29.7 million. Photograph: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for WTA

The 28-year-old Sharapova, who won the French Open last year, collected $6.7 million in prize money, but her total estimated earnings were $29.7 million, according to Forbes.

Ronda Rousey

The United States' Ronda Rousey (left) fights Brazil's Bethe Correia in their bantamweight title fight. Photograph: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

World No 1 tennis player Serena Williams is second at $24.6 million, while motor racing driver Danica Patrick is the top non-tennis player, in fourth place with $13.9 million.

The only other non-tennis players in the top 10 are number eight Ronda Rousey (mixed martial arts) and number nine Stacy Lewis (golf).

Boxers Floyd Mayweather ($300 million) and Manny Pacquiao ($160 million) head the latest men’s list, followed by Portugal and Real Madrid soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo ($79.6 million).

The female earnings were calculated from June 1 of last year until the same date in 2015.

Make note of the world's highest-paid female athletes of 2015:

RankingAthleteSportTotal Earnings
1 Maria Sharapova Tennis $29.2 million
2 Serena Williams Tennis $24.6 million
3 Caroline Wozniacki Tennis $14.6 million
4 Danica Patrick Auto Racing $13.9 million
5 Ana Ivanovic Tennis $8.3 million
6 Petra Kvitova Tennis $7.7 million
7 Simona Halep Tennis $6.8 million
8 Ronda Rousey MMA $6.5 million
9 Stacy Lewis Golf $6.4 million
10 Agnieszka Radwanska Tennis $6 million
Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.