For the third straight year, tennis superstar Coco Gauff was named the highest-paid female athlete, Forbes announced on Tuesday in their annual list for 2025.
At age 21, Gauff earned a total of $33 million this past year from $8 million in winnings on the court and $25 million from endorsements off the court. Winning the French Open in May definitely helped increase her annual earnings this year.
This is a slight decrease from Gauff’s earnings in 2024, which was estimated to be $34.4 million. This amount pushed Gauff above a major milestone, she became just the third woman to ever hit a $30 million income in a single calendar year behind fellow tennis stars Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka. In 2023, Gauff led the list with $22.7 million.
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Tennis stars were the three highest-paid female athletes in 2025 as Aryna Sabalenka earned $30 million (making her the fourth woman to hit this mark) this season, splitting $15 million from her tennis appearances and $15 million from endorsements. After Sabalenka is Iga Świątek, who earned $25.1 million combined this year.
Eight of the 10 highest-paid female athletes are tennis players this year. Apart from Gauff, Sabalenka and Świątek, stars like Qinwen Zheng (No. 5, $22.6 million), Madison Keys (No. 6, $13.4 million), Osaka (No. 8, $12.5 million), Elena Rybakina (No. 8, $12.5 million) and Jessica Pegula (No. 10, $12.3 million).
Here’s the full list of the 20 female athletes named this year.
Athlete
Sport
Combined Earnings
Coco Gauff
Tennis
$33 million
Aryna Sabalenka
Tennis
$30 million
Iga Swiatek
Tennis
$25.1 million
Eileen Gu
Skiing
$23.1 million
Qinwen Zheng
Tennis
$22.6 million
Madison Keys
Tennis
$13.4 million
Nelly Korda
Golf
$13 million
Naomi Osaka
Tennis
$12.5 million
Elena Rybakina
Tennis
$12.5 million
Jessica Pegula
Tennis
$12.3 million
Caitlin Clark
WNBA
$12.1 million
Amanda Anisimova
Tennis
$11.3 million
Sabrina Ionescu
WNBA
$10.5 million
Jeeno Thitikul
Golf
$10.3 million
Angel Reese
WNBA
$9.4 million
Paige Bueckers
WNBA
$9.1 million
Jasmine Paolini
Tennis
$8.3 million
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
Track and Field
$8.2 million
Lindsey Vonn
Skiing
$8.2 million
Ilona Maher
Rugby
$8.1 million
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