Maria Sharapova highest paid female athlete for 11th straigh year

Sharapova topped Forbes Magazine’s “World’s Highest-Paid Female Athletes” list for the 11th straight year.

Maria Sharapova edged out World number one tennis player Serena Williams, who raked in $24.6 million within the same period. Her total haul of .7 million puts her at No. 6 on this particular money list. This year’s list of female athletes included all of the top names expected, but the order may come as a surprise. Forbes’ Top 10 highest-paid male athletes earned $950 million.

There have been large gains in the earnings of women competitors in the last several years, though it’s interesting to note the significant payout disparity that still remains. After earning $3 million alone for her Wimbledon victory in 2014, Petra Kvitova was already on her way toward pulling in major bank for the year.

Sharapova’s net earning was $29.7 million. “Tennis – despite its efforts to engage new communities of participants – is still perceived to be a country-club sport, where the typical demographic both playing and watching avidly is affluent and white”.

Despite her sheer dominance on the tennis court – and popularity off of it – World No. 1 Serena Williams is only the second highest-paid female athlete on the planet. Still, it will be interesting to see if Maria Sharapova can finally crack the top 25 next year.

This may seem unfair (and some might argue, a bit racist) but more brands like Nike and Hear for Sports and Porsche, Tag Heuer, Avon and Evian choose Sharapova. Williams is also a new endorser of Pepsi.

It might seem surprising the no. 2 player earns more money than the top player, especially when you consider that the Russian’s record against Serena Williams is at 2-18. Golfer Stacy Lewis is at no. 9 while another tennis player, Agnieszka Radwanska rounds out the list. She’s earned $3.6 million on the court and, after picking up new sponsors in Godiva chocolates and Lavazza coffee, has also brought in $11 million from endorsements. Meanwhile, Pliskova and Kerber just reached the final in Stanford on Sunday, while Stephens, a promising American, won her first WTA title in Washington.