Tennis players again dominated the Forbes list of top-earning female athletes, with five Sony Ericsson WTA Tour stars landing in the Top 10 for the fiscal period from June 2009 through June 2010. All five of them have been the Tour's No.1-ranked woman at some point in their careers.
No.1 on the list was Maria Sharapova with $24.5 million in income, thanks in large part to an eight-year deal with Nike she signed earlier this year that could be worth as much as $70 million, and endorsements with Sony Ericsson and Tiffany, among others. She also was atop last year's list.
No.2 was Serena Williams with $20.2 million. In addition to becoming a minority owner of the Miami Dolphins with sister Venus last summer, she made a Tour record $6.5 million in prize money in 2009. She also has the Tour's record for career prize money, with Venus in second place. Speaking of Venus, she was No.3 on the Forbes list with $15.4 million. Her endorsements include Oreo, Powerade, Tide and Wilson.
No.7 on the list was Ana Ivanovic with $7.2 million. She signed a lifetime deal with adidas in February. No.8 was fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic with $5.3 million. She signed an apparel and shoe deal with China sportswear company Anta in 2009.
In compiling the list, Forbes took into account prize money, endorsements, appearance fees and exhibitions.
