Osaka beats Serena to become world’s highest-paid female athlete of 2022

Forbes magazine announced the world’s highest-paid female athletes in 2022 on Thursday and tennis star Naomi Osaka snagged the No. 1 spot ahead of tennis icon Serena Williams.

The 25 women mentioned in Forbes’ list accumulated an estimated $285 million this year, before agents’ fees and taxes. Of the 25 spots listed, tennis players accounted for the most spots with 12. The list, which takes into account on and off-field earnings, is full of some of the most prominent and influential athletes in sports. 

Osaka earned the top slot for the third consecutive year, with her earnings reaching $51.1 million in 2022. Superstar Serena Williams came in at No. 2 ($41.3 million in earnings) and Olympic skier Eileen Gu ($20.1 million) at No. 3. Gymnastics phenom Simone Biles placed eighth with $10 million, while WNBA star Candace Parker earned $7.2 million and grabbed the No. 11 spot. 

OL Reign’s Megan Rapinoe tied at No. 19 with USWNT teammate Alex Morgan, who also plays for the NWSL’s San Diego Wave, and golf star In Gee Chun, with each woman earning $5.7 million. 

A discrepancy still exists between on- and off-field earnings in women’s sports. Only $1.1 million of Osaka’s $51.1 million came from on-court earnings—though she suffered injuries throughout the 2022 campaign that impacted her appearances in tournaments. Parker’s salary makes up only a little more than 2% of her total yield while Morgan and Rapinoe make $700,000 of their $5.7 million on the pitch, per Forbes. But tennis world No. 1 Iga Świątek, who won the French and U.S. Opens in 2022, had $9.9 million of her $14.9 million come from prize money.

Here are the top 10 highest-paid female athletes in 2022:

Naomi Osaka, Tennis: $51.1 million

Serena Williams, Tennis: $41.3 million

Eileen Gu, Freestyle Skiing: $20.1 million 

Emma Raducanu, Tennis: $18.7 million

Iga Świątek, Tennis: $14.9 million 

Venus Williams, Tennis: $12.1 million 

Coco Gauff, Tennis: $11.1 million

Simone Biles, Gymnastics: $10 million 

Jessica Pegula, Tennis: $7.6 million

Minjee Lee, Golf: $7.3 million