23-time grand slam winner Serena Williams is back in Forbes’ top 10 highest earning female athletes.
After taking a 14-month break from tennis, Williams earned $62,000 only in prize winnings. Much of her earnings came from endorsements that totaled $18 million.
Williams is back to the prestigious list after female athletes failed to make it to the top 100 highest earning athletes in June 2018. Boxer Floyd May Weather jr retained the number one spot, with soccer players Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi ranking second and third positions.
Although 8 out of 10 top-earning female athletes this year have been tennis players, female players in general still earn much less than their male counterparts. Williams has often been the only female athletes in the top 100 list. Former tennis player, Li Na used to appear in the list but since her 2014 retirement, she has not been listed since.
Another tennis player, Maria Sharapova used to feature in the prestigious list but has been conspicuously missing since her drugs ban.
According to Forbes editor, Kurt Badenhausen, Williams is one of the highest earning athletes based on endorsements alone.
“Serena is still killing it off the court,” the editor told CNN. “She’s more popular than ever with corporate sponsors…her endorsements earnings would put her up in the top 10 in the world,” he added.
To rank higher on Forbes, Williams will have to get back to her winning ways. She is yet to win any titles since she got back to the court earlier this year. She suffered her worst defeat to Johanna Konta at the Silicon Valley but is hopeful of a better future.
Miss Williams has also had to battle person struggles. She learned the man jailed for killing her sister had been released immediately after getting back to the court; something she claims affected her preparations.
