Tennis stands out among professional sports for offering equal prize money to both male and female competitors at its four grand slam tournaments. However, this parity is not yet universal. The WTA has announced plans to extend equal prize money to all combined 1000- and 500-level events by 2027, aiming to close the pay gap across the sport.
One of the most decorated tennis players of all time, 23-time major champion Serena Williams is the highest-paid female tennis player with $94.8 million in total career earnings. Williams retired in 2022, but remains a prominent figure in the tennis community.
Trailing Serena in the second position is her sister, seven-time major champ Venus Williams. Venus boasts total career earnings of over $42.5 million. Taking the third slot is Simona Halep with total career earnings of $40.2 million.
Rounding out the top five are five-time major champion, Maria Sharapova and two-time major champion, Petra Kvitova. Sharapova and Kvitova have total career earnings of $38.78 million and $37.25 million, respectively.
The Highest-Paid Tennis Players
Here is the full list of the 25 highest-paid female tennis players by total career earnings. The list was compiled using data from Spotrac.
- Updated: April 30, 2024
- Will be updated again: July 1, 2024
| Rank | Player | Major Championships | Compensation |
| 1 | Serena Williams | 23 | $94,816,730 |
| 2 | Venus Williams | 7 | $42,595,397 |
| 3 | Simona Halep | 2 | $40,203,437 |
| 4 | Maria Sharapova | 5 | $38,777,962 |
| 5 | Petra Kvitova | 2 | $37,252,032 |
| 6 | Victoria Azarenka | 2 | $37,071,354 |
| 7 | Caroline Wozniacki | 1 | $35,679,738 |
| 8 | Angelique Kerber | 3 | $32,183,533 |
| 9 | Agnieszka Radwanska | 0 | $27,683,807 |
| 10 | Iga Swiatek | 4 | $25,968,071 |
| 11 | Svetlana Kuznetsova | 2 | $25,816,890 |
| 12 | Karolina Pliskova | 0 | $25,695,499 |
| 13 | Garbiñe Muguruza | 2 | $24,813,379 |
| 14 | Martina Hingis | 5 | $24,749,074 |
| 15 | Kim Clijsters | 4 | $24,545,194 |
| 16 | Ashleigh Barty | 3 | $23,829,070 |
| 17 | Elina Svitolina | 0 | $23,178,953 |
| 18 | Aryna Sabalenka | 1 | $22,616,584 |
| 19 | Lindsay Davenport | 3 | $22,166,338 |
| 20 | Steffi Graf | 22 | $21,895,277 |
| 21 | Martina Navratilova | 18 | $21,626,089 |
| 22 | Naomi Osaka | 4 | $21,355,974 |
| 23 | Justine Henin | 7 | $20,863,335 |
| 24 | Samantha Stosur | 1 | $20,069,776 |
| 25 | Jelena Jankovic | 0 | $19,089,259 |
