Serena Williams Is Finally World’s Highest-Paid Female Athlete

Serena Williams has finally surpassed Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova as the highest-paid athlete in the world, with earnings of $28.9 million in the past 12 months, according to Forbes. Endorsements account for $20 million of that sum.

Serena Williams Is Finally World’s Highest-Paid Female Athlete

Sharapova had outranked Williams for 11 straight years as the world’s highest-paid woman in sports. The Russian has endorsed nearly everything, from sportswear and sports cars to watches and cosmetics and filtered spring water. However, Williams was better on the court, with a 192- record against Sharapova, defeating her in every matchup since 2005.

The 34-year-old American has dominated women’s tennis over the course of her career, winning 21 Grand Slam titles and earning more than $77 million in prize money, as well as the title of Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year four times, including 2015.

More recently, Williams finished second at the French Open after losing to Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in the women’s final on Saturday. In addition to the AP award, she was also named the 2015 Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year.  Last year, Williams won $10,582,642 and went 53-3 in singles competition with three major singles titles. This year, she has gone 24-4 in singles competition and reached the final at both Roland Garros and the Australian Open.

Williams has also joined Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry as a part of JPMorgan Chase’s “Chase Mastery” Campaign. She continues to be a profitable sponsor for Gatorade and even pitched her own clothing line as part of an equity deal with Home Shopping Network.

From Forbes: “Her late-career tear has made Williams a compelling figure for marketers. She ranks second among active athletes, behind only LeBron James in the U.S., on Repucom’s CelebrityDBI, which tracks consumer perceptions of celebrities based on awareness, as well as seven attributes. Her 89% awareness level ranks in the top 3% of the nearly 4,000 celebrities Repucom follows, and she scores highly on the aspiration and influence attributes in particular.”

Another factor that led Williams to become the highest-paid female athlete is the fact that Sharapova, 29, admitted in March to testing positive at January’s Australian Open for the drug meldonium, which was banned by the International Tennis Federation on January 1. The Russian was consequently banned from tennis for two years by the ITF earlier this week, although she plans to appeal the suspension.

Sponsors including Nike and Porsche suspended their ties with Sharapova and TAG Heuer and American Express opted not to renew deals with her. Avon, Evian and Head, however, all stayed by her side.

All of this bumped Sharapova down to No. 2, where she earns $21.9 million. According to Forbes, fighter Ronda Rousey ($14 million) ranks third, driver Danica Patrick ($13.9 million) is fourth and Polish tennis player Agnieszka Radwanska ($10.2 million) round out the top five.

PHOTO: PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 02: Serena Williams of the United States hits a forehand during the Ladies Singles quarter final match against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan on day twelve of the 2016 French Open at Roland Garros on June 2, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)