Serena Williams is the richest female athlete in the world as of November 2026, with a net worth we estimate at about $400 million. This list ranks living women, active or retired, whose fortunes were built mainly through their own sporting careers: prize money, salaries, endorsements and the businesses that grew out of their fame. Money from family fortunes or spouses does not count toward the ranking.
One sport dominates. Eight of the ten made their money with a racket, which says a lot about where sponsors spend on women’s sport. Tennis offers a global tour, equal prize money at the majors and a camera on every player for two hours at a time.
| Rank | Name | Net worth (USD) | Main source of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Eileen Gu | $45 million | Freestyle skiing, endorsements |
| 9 | Aryna Sabalenka | $45 million | Tennis prize money, endorsements |
| 8 | Li Na | $50 million | Tennis, endorsements |
| 7 | Coco Gauff | $55 million | Tennis, endorsements |
| 6 | Steffi Graf | $75 million | Tennis, endorsements |
| 5 | Danica Patrick | $80 million | Motor racing, endorsements, wine |
| 4 | Naomi Osaka | $85 million | Tennis, endorsements, brand stakes |
| 3 | Venus Williams | $90 million | Tennis, design and fashion businesses |
| 2 | Maria Sharapova | $190 million | Endorsements, tennis, investments |
| 1 | Serena Williams | $400 million | Tennis, endorsements, Serena Ventures |
The richest women in sport, from 10 to 1
10. Eileen Gu: $45 million
Eileen Gu is the only athlete on this list who earns almost nothing from competing. In 2025 her income was estimated at about $23.1 million, and all but roughly $100,000 of it came from sponsors. Freestyle skiing does not pay much in prize money; being one of the most marketable young athletes in the world pays a lot.
Born in San Francisco in 2003 and competing for China, her mother’s homeland, she won two gold medals and a silver at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She models, studies at Stanford and fronts campaigns for luxury, beauty and tech brands, and she returned to the Olympic stage in 2026.
Published estimates run from about $20 million to $50 million. We add up her estimated earnings from 2022 through 2025 and part of her 2026 Olympic-year income, take off agent fees, tax and spending, and land at about $45 million. That ties her with Sabalenka, whose prize money is on the public record, so Sabalenka takes the higher spot.
9. Aryna Sabalenka: $45 million
Aryna Sabalenka hits the ball harder than almost anyone in women’s tennis, and the results finally caught up with the power. She won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024, then the US Open in 2024 and 2025, and finished both 2024 and 2025 as world No. 1.
Her 2025 season set a WTA record for prize money in a single year: just over $15 million. Add a similar amount from endorsements and she was the second highest-paid female athlete of 2025, at about $30 million. Her career prize money now tops $50 million.
Third-party net worth guesses for Sabalenka are all over the place, so we built our own: career prize money plus sponsorships, minus tax and costs, gives roughly $45 million.
8. Li Na: $50 million
When Li Na won the French Open in 2011, she became the first player from Asia to win a Grand Slam singles title. More than 100 million people in China reportedly watched the final. Sponsors lined up overnight, and she signed deals with brands including Nike, Mercedes-Benz and Rolex.
She added the Australian Open in 2014 and retired later that year, at 32. Her endorsement income during those peak years put her among the highest-paid women in sport, and she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2019. Since retiring she has kept a lower profile, with a few brand partnerships and commentary work.
Two separate estimates put Li Na at about $50 million, which matches the earnings she banked at her peak.
7. Coco Gauff: $55 million
Coco Gauff beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019 when she was 15. She has spent the years since proving the hype was right, winning the US Open in 2023 and the French Open in 2025.
Sponsors got there early. Gauff was named the world’s highest-paid female athlete in 2025, earning about $33 million, of which roughly $25 million came from endorsements. Her biggest partner is New Balance, which gave her a signature shoe, and her deals range from pasta (Barilla) to headphones (Bose). At 22, she has the longest earning runway of anyone in the top ten.
Several years of $20 million-plus earnings since 2023 are the basis for our figure of about $55 million.
6. Steffi Graf: $75 million
Steffi Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and, in 1988, completed the Golden Slam: all four majors plus Olympic gold in a single year. No other player, man or woman, has done that. She spent 377 weeks as world No. 1.
Graf’s on-court prize money came to about $21.9 million, modest by today’s standards. The bigger number came from a long run of endorsements during the 1980s and 1990s and from careful investing after she retired in 1999. She lives in Las Vegas with her husband, Andre Agassi, and runs Children for Tomorrow, a foundation she started in 1998.
The figure usually quoted for Graf, about $145 million, is a joint number for her and Agassi. Since this list does not count a spouse’s money, we credit Graf with roughly half, about $75 million, and treat it as a softer figure than the rest.
5. Danica Patrick: $80 million
Danica Patrick spent her career as the only woman on the grid, and she was very good at making that pay. In 2008 she won the Indy Japan 300, the first woman to win an IndyCar race. In 2013 she became the first woman to take pole position for the Daytona 500.
Her real earnings came from sponsorship. GoDaddy put her in a string of Super Bowl ads and on the hood of her cars for years, and her endorsement income far outran her race winnings. After retiring in 2018 she built Somnium, a Napa Valley wine label, and turned to podcasting and broadcasting.
Our model holds Patrick at about $80 million, a figure two independent estimates agree on.
4. Naomi Osaka: $85 million
From 2020 to 2022, no woman in sport earned more than Naomi Osaka. At her peak in 2021 she made around $57 million in a year, almost all from sponsors, and she was the face of the Tokyo Olympics, lighting the cauldron at the opening ceremony.
Osaka won four Grand Slam titles, two at the US Open and two at the Australian Open, then used the cash to buy stakes in other people’s businesses. She founded the skincare brand Kinlò, launched a media company called Hana Kuma, and invested in the women’s football club North Carolina Courage. She returned to the tour in 2024 and was still among the ten highest-paid female athletes in 2025.
Estimates for Osaka range widely, from about $45 million to $120 million. Our model sits near the middle at about $85 million: her pre-tax earnings since 2019 were huge, but a large share went to tax, agents and the costs of running a touring career.
3. Venus Williams: $90 million
Venus Williams won seven Grand Slam singles titles, including five at Wimbledon, and one of her most valuable wins came off the court. Her campaign for equal pay helped push Wimbledon to give women the same prize money as men in 2007.
Venus is also a business owner. She founded V Starr, an interior design firm, and EleVen, an activewear brand, and with Serena she holds a small stake in the Miami Dolphins. In 2025 she came back to the pro tour at 45, an age when most players are long retired.
Published estimates for Venus run from about $65 million to $95 million. We value her at about $90 million, built from more than $40 million in career prize money, decades of endorsements and her businesses.
2. Maria Sharapova: $190 million
Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004 at 17, beating Serena Williams in the final, and sponsors never looked back. She went on to win five Grand Slam titles, but her real achievement was commercial: she was the highest-paid female athlete in the world for 11 straight years, from 2005 to 2015.
Her career endorsement income is estimated at more than $325 million, against about $38 million in prize money. In 2012 she launched Sugarpova, a premium candy brand, and since retiring in 2020 she has invested in companies including the sunscreen brand Supergoop and sat on corporate boards. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2025.
Sharapova’s figure sits between two estimates of $180 million and $195 million. We use about $190 million.
1. Serena Williams: $400 million
Serena Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most of anyone in the Open Era, and $94.8 million in prize money, a WTA record. That was the small part. Her lifetime earnings before taxes are estimated at around $620 million, most of it from sponsors such as Nike, Wilson, Gatorade and Audemars Piguet.
Serena did something few athletes manage: she turned fame into a second career as an investor. In 2014 she started Serena Ventures, which raised $111 million for its first fund and has backed more than a dozen companies later valued at $1 billion or more. She also owns stakes in the Miami Dolphins, the women’s football club Angel City FC and the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo, and in 2024 she launched the beauty brand Wyn Beauty.
A June 2026 estimate put her at $400 million, and her own investing record is why we accept the higher number over older figures.
Special mentions
- Alexis DeJoria: The drag racer is often listed among the richest sportswomen, but her fortune comes from her father, John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of Paul Mitchell and Patrón.
- Anna Kournikova: Often estimated at around $50 million, mostly from modeling and endorsements during and after a short playing career. She ties with Li Na on paper, and Li’s Grand Slam titles break the tie.
- Simone Biles: The most decorated gymnast in history earns well from endorsements, but her estimated $30 million is below the cut.
What the richest female athletes have in common
- Sponsors pay the bills. For nearly every woman here, endorsements have outearned prize money, often by five to one. Sharapova earned more than eight times as much off the court as on it.
- Global sports pay best. Tennis, skiing and motor racing travel the world, which lets one athlete sell to sponsors in dozens of markets.
- The richest ones bought equity. Serena’s venture fund, Osaka’s skincare line, Patrick’s vineyard and Venus’s design firm keep making money after the last match.
- Breaking a first pays for life. First Asian Grand Slam winner, first woman to win an IndyCar race, first Golden Slam: sponsors pay a premium for history.
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Get the Alux app →FAQ
Who is the richest female athlete in the world?
Serena Williams, with a net worth of about $400 million in 2026. She made it from tennis, endorsements and her investment firm, Serena Ventures.
Who is the highest-paid female athlete right now?
Coco Gauff earned about $33 million in 2025, more than any other woman in sport, with Aryna Sabalenka close behind at about $30 million.
Is Serena Williams a billionaire?
No. Her net worth is about $400 million, though her lifetime earnings before taxes are estimated at around $620 million.
Who is the youngest woman on the list?
Coco Gauff, born in 2004, is the youngest. Eileen Gu, born in 2003, is close behind.
How much does the 10th richest female athlete have?
Eileen Gu takes tenth place with about $45 million, level with Aryna Sabalenka, and almost all of it comes from endorsements.
Why are most of the richest female athletes tennis players?
Tennis has a year-round global tour, equal prize money at the four majors and huge TV audiences, so sponsors pay more for its stars than for most other women’s sports.
How we estimate net worth
Our estimates are based on public reporting, company valuations, and deal and earnings figures all compiled in an internal valuation model. They are approximate, and figures change over time as new information emerges.
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Last updated: November 2026.
