'World's richest tennis player' has earnings in 2023 dwarfed by 6 rivals
Tennis' richest player ends the year as only the eighth highest-paid women athlete, behind half a dozen other tennis stars, including US Open champ Coco Gauff.
Jessica Pegula, the 'world's richest tennis player,' earned $9 million in 2023. But despite that moniker, she ranks eighth among the year's highest-paid female athletes, trailing six other tennis players.
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Pegula, whose parents are multi-billionaires and own NFL franchise Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres, has made over $12 million in prize money throughout her career. This year, she added $6 million after winning both the Canadian and Korea Opens during the WTA Tour.
Despite her wealth, Pegula is only the 48th highest-paid women's tennis player in history. But with her successful career, she's expected to climb up the ranks in the coming years, after anotehr ultra consistent season where she reached two singles Grand Slam qaurterfinals, and two semifinals alongside partner Coco Gauff.
Just above her in the seventh spot in the 2023 rankings from "Sportico" is former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. They both won the same number of tournaments, but Rybakina earns more from her endorsement deals, including one with Red Bull.
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Aryna Sabalenka, who performed consistently in all four Grand Slams winning the Australian Open, earned over £6.5million in prize money and landed in sixth place. Naomi Osaka took a break from tennis this season and with big brand endorsement deals like Beats, Levi's, Louis Vuitton, Mastercard, and Nike still made $15 million.
Emma Raducanu raked in $16 million from sponsors like British Airways, Christian Dior, Evian, HSBC, Porsche, and Vodafone, even though she only played nine matches due to injury. Eileen Gu, the American-born Chinese freestyle skier, topped them all with a whopping $20 million from endorsements but trailed in behind two more tennis players.
Iga Swiatek, the world No. 1, came second despite her recent victory at the WTA Finals and $12 million from endorsements. The top spot went to US Open winner Gauff, thanks to her first Slam success and the lucrative bonuses it triggered from her sponsors.
Her success alongside doubles partner Pegula also helped. However, the almost $14 million difference between their yearly earnings almost entirely comes from their wildly varying off-the-court endeavors.
Gauff is the face of New Balance and even has a signature shoe line. Bose, Head, Rolex and UPS also partner with the American teenage sensation.
Some suggest that Pegula has only reached these heights because of her background. She recently disputed that stance during an interview with "Forbes."
“I think that everyone who knows sports or is an athlete, or is highly competitive or made it very far knows that you’re not really going to get there unless you work hard and are talented and are really driven to get there,” she said.
“I think that everyone who knows sports or is an athlete, or is highly competitive or made it very far knows that you’re not really going to get there unless you work hard and are talented and are really driven to get there.”
"Maybe some people that just don’t want to like me for whatever reason maybe will always say that. But I can’t really change their minds. But I’ve worked really hard, and I definitely wouldn’t have gotten here if it wasn’t for that."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
