Naomi Osaka displaced Serena Williams as world’s highest-paid female athlete

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has displaced US rival Serena Williams to become the world’s highest-paid female athlete.

According to Forbes magazine, Osaka, 22, a two-time Grand Slam champion, made £30.7m in prize money and endorsements over the past 12 months.

That was £1.15m more than the amount earned by 38-year-old Serena Williams.

Both shattered the previous single-year earnings record of £24.4m set in 2015 by Russia’s Maria Sharapova.

Since Forbes began tracking women athletes’ income in 1990, tennis players have topped the annual list every year.

Osaka, whose father was born in Haiti and whose mother is Japanese, is 29th on the 2020 Forbes list of the world’s 100 top-paid athletes, four spots ahead of Williams, the winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles.

Taking to it’s official Instagram page, the magazine writes: “The 22-year-old Japanese tennis player racked up $37 million in earnings in the past year, more than any other female athlete in history. Tennis has been a winning strategy for the highest-paid female athletes. Before Naomi Osaka arrived on the scene, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams were the top-earning women of the decade, holding the top spot for five and four years, respectively.

“Osaka ranks No. 29 among the 100 highest-paid athletes this year, while Williams is No. 33. It’s the first time since 2016 that two women have made the ranks of the top 100 highest-paid athletes, with the full 2020 list set for release next week.”

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