Coco Gauff is once again the highest-earning female athlete as she held off world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka to secure the top spot for the third consecutive year on a list once again dominated by tennis players.

Last year Gauff topped the Sportico list with $30.4m in earnings with $9.4m coming from prize money and $21m from endorsements, and she has earned slightly more this year with her total earnings estimated to be $31m ($8m on court and $23m off court).

The American’s biggest on-court paycheck came at Roland Garros this year as she won her maiden French Open title, beating Sabalenka in the final, to collect $2,901,024, but that is pale in comparison to the $4.805m she earned at the 2024 WTA Finals.

But, as usual, players’ earnings are boosted by endorsement deals and Gauff’s biggest sponsor is apparel giant New Balance while she also has links with Bose, Head, Rolex, Mercedes-Benz and Chase Bank.

Sabalenka set a new record in 2025 for most prize money earned during a single season as she made $15,008,519 – surpassing Serena Williams’ total of $12m in 2013 – with her US Open victory worth $5,000,000.

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According to estimates, the four-time Grand Slam winner made $30m this year, and it was split 50-50 between prize money and endorsements.

Iga Swiatek was second in 2024 as she made $23.8m and she is one spot down on the list while her earnings have also dropped as she made “only” $23.1m this year with $10.1m coming on court and $13m off court.

American freestyle skier Eileen Gu is fourth with Chinese star Zheng Qinwen completing the top five despite an injury-disrupted tennis season that saw her fail to reach any WTA Tour finals.

Zheng, who has slipped out of the top 10 of the WTA Rankings as she currently sits at No 24, made only $1.6m in prize money with the bulk of her earnings coming from endorsement deals.

The 2024 Australian Open runner-up is backed by the likes of Nike, Alipay, Audi, Dior, Gatorade and Rolex and, according to Sportico, made $20.6m from endorsements this year.

2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys sits at No 8 with a total of $13m ($4.4m from prize money and $9m from endorsements) with Elena Rybakina at No 9.

2022 Wimbledon winner Rybakina collected the biggest-ever cheque in women’s tennis as she earned $5.235m or winning the WTA Finals undefeated and that boosted her total on-court earnings to $8.4m with with $4m coming from endorsements.

Former world No 1 Naomi Osaka didn’t win any titles in 2025 as she finished runner-up at the Canadian Open and Auckland Open with her on-court earnings $2.5m and off-court earnings $10m, which puts her 10th on the list.

The four-time Grand Slam winner was sixth last year with 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu seventh with $14.7, but the latter has dropped out of the top 15 as her off-court earnings dropped significantly over the past year.

Three more tennis players feature in this year’s top 15 with Amanda Anisimova sitting at No 12, Jessica Pegula at No 13 and the great Venus Williams at No 14.

Sportico’s 2025 top-15 highest-paid female athletes

1. Coco Gauff United States – Tennis – $31m ($8m prize money and $23m endorsements)
2. Aryna Sabalenka – Tennis – $30m ($15m prize money and $15m endorsements)
3. Iga Swiatek, Tennis – $23.1m ($10.1m prize money and $13m endorsements)
4. Eileen Gu United States – Freestyle Skiing – $23m ($20k prize money and $23m endorsements)
5. Zheng Qinwen China – Tennis – $20.6m ($1.6m prize money and $19m endorsements)
6. Caitlin Clark United States – Basketball – $16.1m ($119,000 prize money and $16m endorsements)
7. Nelly Korda United States – Golf – $13.8m ($2.8m prize money and $11m endorsements)
8. Madison Keys United States – Tennis – $13.4m ($4.4 prize money $9m endorsements)
9. Elena Rybakina Kazakhstan – Tennis – $12.6m ($8.6 prize money and $4m endorsements)
10. Naomi Osaka Japan – Tennis – $12.5m ($2.5m prize money and $10m endorsements)
11. Simone Biles United States – Gymnastics – $11m ($0 prize money and $11m endorsements)
12. Amanda Anisimova United States – Tennis – $10.8m ($7.3m prize money and $3.5m endorsements)
13. Jessica Pegula United States – Tennis – $10.5m ($5.5m prize money and $5m endorsements)
14. Venus Williams United States – Tennis – $10.2m ($219K prize money and $10m endorsements)
15. Jeeno Thitikul Thailand – Golf – $10.1m ($7.6m prize money and $2.5m endorsements)