Serena Passes Sharapova For Highest Paid Female Athlete

June 7, 2016 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff

World number one Serena Williams was named the World’s Highest Paid Female Athlete by Forbes on Monday, passing Maria Sharapova’s earnings for this past year.

Over the last 12 months, Serena has raked in $28.9 million, $8.9 million of which came from prize money. Her total earnings are $7 million more than Sharapova, who was named second on the list.

Coming in fifth on the list was Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska who earned more than $10 million last year. Behind Radwanska was Caroline Wozniacki in sixth, followed by new French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, Ana Ivanovic, Victoria Azarenka and Eugenie Bouchard.

Serena’s newest off-court partnership came last year with Chase, a deal which was renewed for 2016.

“Serena is one of the most dominant and recognizable female athletes of all-time and she helped create one of Chase’s most memorable campaigns to date,” said Donna Vieira, Chief Marketing Officer for Chase Consumer Banking.

Serena is also extremely active on social media, with more than 200 posts in the last 12 months that promoted a brand or product, which generated about $10 million in media value according to Hookit, a company that tracks promotion types and quality.

Ronda Rousey and Danica Patrick were the two non-tennis players on the top 10 list.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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