Forbes has released the list of the highest-paid women athletes of 2025. Among them, the top 20 women athletes earn a combined total of $293 million, representing a 13% increase from 2024, when their total was $258 million. Below are discussed the top women athletes across all sports categories who were paid the highest in 2025. A total of eight out of these 10 women athletes belong to the tennis industry.
1. Coco Gauff (Tennis)
Granted the Forbes 30 Under 30 honor in 2025, American tennis star Coco Gauff is the world’s highest-paid female athlete with earnings of $33 million. This includes her on-field earnings worth $8 million, while the remaining $25 million is earned through her robust endorsements and sponsorships with brands like New Balance, Bose, and Baker Tilly. The two-time Grand Slam singles champion leads the earnings ranking for the second consecutive time.
2. Aryna Sabalenka (Tennis)
The world No. 1 women’s singles tennis player, Aryna Sabalenka, is second in the list with $30 million in earnings. With that, she is now the fourth female athlete to reach the $30 million mark in the Forbes earnings list. Sabalenka has had a terrific season, finishing as the WTA Tour’s top-ranked player for the second consecutive time after winning four singles titles in 2025. She is currently under the sponsorship of brands like Audemars Piguet and Master & Dynamic.
3. Iga Swiatek (Tennis)
With earnings of $25.1 million, Swiatek is placed at no. 3. The Polish star, with 62 wins in WTA Tour-level matches and her first Wimbledon triumph, had a breakthrough season in 2025. She has won four French Open titles in her career.
4. Eileen Gu (Freestyle Skiing)
Freestyle Ski Racer Eileen Gu is next on the list. She has earned a maximum of her earnings through lucrative endorsements with brands like Red Bull, Porsche, IWC Schaffhausen, and TCL electronics, which account for $23 million. Meanwhile, the remaining $0.1 million comes from her on-field earnings, including $40,000 won in the World Cup slopestyle and halfpipe events and $55,000 in the Snow League.
5. Qinwen Zheng (Tennis)
With the majority of her 2025 season going under injury and surgery, Qinwen Zheng takes the no. 5 rank through her 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal and finals appearance in the Australia Open the same year. She currently boasts earnings worth $22.6 million. In addition to that, she holds several partnerships with brands including Alipay, Audi, and Dior. However, in the 2025 China Open held in September, she retired in her second match.
6. Madison Keys (Tennis)
With $13.4 million in earnings, Madison Keys is another tennis star on the list. She has worked with brands like Brilliant Earth, IBM, and MassMutual. She finished the 2025 season as No. 7 in the WTA rankings. Her on-field accounts for worth $4.4 million, while the remaining $9 million comes from endorsements and sponsorships.
7. Nelly Korda (Golf)
Korda’s 2025 season ended with no tournament victories, but her stats remain highlighted as the historic season she had last year, with seven titles won in golf. The defending LPGA Player of the Year, with 15 LPGA Tour wins, has total earnings of $13 million.
8. Naomi Osaka (Tennis)
With $12.5 million in earnings, Naomi Osaka won her first WTA Tour title in Saint-Malo, France, in April after four years. She made it to the top 20 list of women players after January 2022 and finished the 2025 season at no. 16 after making it to the U.S. Open semi-finals.
9. Elena Rybakina (Tennis)
Kazakhstan’s tennis player was undefeated in her WTA Finals held in November 2025, which gave her $5.2 million alone in earnings. In 2025, Rybakina had 516 aces and 143 clears, which is the highest since 2016 in the WTA Tour.
10. Jessica Pegula (Tennis)
No. 10 in the list is U.S. Tennis player Jessica Pegula finished the 2025 season with three singles titles won and earned the WTA Finals qualification for the fourth consecutive year. She is currently in partnership with dog food brand Hyatt and Maev and has launched a podcast channel named “The Player’s Box” with fellow tennis mates, including Madison, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Krawczyk. She is currently earning $12.3 million.
