10 Highest-Paid Female Athletes Bank Record Amount in 2022

As women’s sports grow, so are the athletes’ pockets.

For the first time since Forbes’ highest-paid female athletes ranking began in 2008, more than seven women made at least $10 million — boosting the total amount made before taxes and agents’ fees by the 25 highest-paid female athletes to $285 million in 2022.

Of the total, the top 10 accounted for a record $194 million — a 17% increase from last year’s $167 million. Of the top 10 highest-paid female athletes, seven play tennis.

Naomi Osaka took the top spot for the third consecutive year with $51.1 million in earnings, followed by fellow tennis star Serena Williams ($41.3 million), and 19-year-old skier Eileen Gu ($20.1 million).

• No. 4: Emma Raducanu (tennis), $18.7 million
• No. 5: Iga Świątek (tennis), $14.9 million
• No. 6: Venus Williams (tennis), $12.1 million
• No. 7: Coco Gauff (tennis), $11.1 million
• No. 8: Simone Biles (gymnastics), $10 million
• No. 9: Jessica Pegula (tennis), $7.6 million
• No. 10: Minjee Lee (golf), $7.3 million

Gu, Raducanu, Świątek, and Gauff are all newcomers to the list.

Tennis players Caroline Garcia and Garbińe Muguruza tied at No. 24 with $5.2 million in earnings.

Team Trends

Individual sports continue to dominate — 12 tennis players and seven golfers made the top 25.

Biles and Gu were the only gymnasts and skiers on the list. One badminton player (P.V. Sindhu), one basketball player (Candace Parker), and two soccer players (Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan) rounded out the list.