Top-earning women’s tennis players of all time

Clive Brunskill // Getty Images In 1968, professional tennis entered the Open Era. With the introduction of the four Grand Slam tournaments–U.S. Open, Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon–the division between pros and amateurs finally ended. But there was still the matter of male versus female players. In 1973, Billie Jean King famously beat Bobby Riggs in “The Battle Of The Sexes,” making her the first woman in sports to win $100,000 in a single year. But her plea for gender equality came three years prior when she won the Italian Open and won a mere $600 compared to the male winner, Ilie N stase, taking home $3,500. The discrepancy prompted her famous quote, “Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get crumbs, and I want women to have the cake, the icing and the cherry on top, too.” King continued championing women’s rights throughout her career and founded the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973. Because of her actions, tennis has slowly closed the gender gap and now male and female players earn the same amount of prize money in each of the four majors; however, a study published in 2021 by British price comparison site Money.co.uk found women players still earn roughly 34% less than men. Stacker ranked the 25 top-earning women’s tennis players of all time, using data compiled by the WTA Tour. Earning totals are current as of Aug. 1, 2022. Interestingly, the United States leads the way with five total players, while no other country has more than two. Among them is Serena Williams, who alluded to her impending retirement in August 2022 with plans to “evolve away” from the game. You may also like: 25 unique sports from around the world #25. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Simon Bruty // Getty Images – Career earnings: $16,942,639 – Turned professional: 1985 – Country: Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario started playing tennis at the age of 4, and her dedication paid off. During her 17-year career, the Spanish player won 14 Grand Slam titles, earned a silver and bronze medal in both the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, and won five Fed Cup titles representing Spain. In 1994, the International Tennis Federation named her that year’s World Champion. #24. Sloane Stephens Elsa // Getty Images – Career earnings: $16,987,965 – Turned professional: 2007 – Country: United States Sloane Stephens has had some ups and downs since turning pro in 2007. After rising to prominence in 2013, a foot injury slowed her down in 2016; however, she ended up winning the U.S. Open upon her return in 2017. She also has seven WTA titles under her belt, including one in 2022. #23. Jelena Jankovi Chris McGrath // Getty Images – Career earnings: $19,089,259 – Turned professional: 2000 – Country: Serbia During her 17-year career, Jelena Jankovi  won 15 WTA single titles, as well as two doubles titles. The Serbian player’s most notable performance was winning the 2007 Wimbledon mixed-doubles with her partner Jamie Murray. #22. Samantha Stosur Quinn Rooney // Getty Images – Career earnings: $20,024,430 – Turned professional: 1999 – Country: Australia Samantha Stosur memorably won a Grand Slam singles tournament after defeating Serena Williams at the 2011 U.S. Open, making her the first Australian woman to achieve a Grand Slam singles title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley’s 1980 victory, but it was doubles where she really thrived. In her career, Stosur has won four Grand Slam doubles championships. She notably announced her singles retirement in May 2022 but is still active in doubles. #21. Justine Henin Quinn Rooney // Getty Images – Career earnings: $20,863,335 – Turned professional: 1999 – Country: Belgium Justine Henin spent 117 total weeks as the world’s #1 player during her 12-year career. The Belgian player also won seven Grand Slam singles titles, 43 WTA singles titles, and a gold medal in women’s singles at the 2004 Olympics. You may also like: 50 largest college football stadiums #20. Naomi Osaka Julian Finney // Getty Images – Career earnings: $23,644,320 – Turned professional: 2006 – Country: Czech Republic Karolína Plíšková has won 16 WTA singles titles and five doubles in her career. The Czech pro also made the Grand Slam finals twice, though she has yet to win a title. #14. Ashleigh Barty Clive Brunskill // Getty Images – Career earnings: $23,829,070 – Turned professional: 2010 – Country: Australia Before retiring in March 2022, Ashleigh Barty had an impressive career. She holds 15 WTA singles titles and 12 doubles titles. She’s also won three Grand Slams in singles and one in doubles. #13. Garbiñe Muguruza Cameron Spencer // Getty Images – Career earnings: $24,458,556 – Turned professional: 2011 – Country: Spain Since turning pro, Garbiñe Muguruza has made quite the name for herself. She’s won 10 WTA singles titles, including the 2021 WTA Finals, and two Grand Slams. She also has five doubles titles. #12. Kim Clijsters Mark Kolbe // Getty Images – Career earnings: $24,545,194 – Turned professional: 1997 – Country: Belgium Kim Clijsters has been playing tennis professionally for more than 20 years. In that time, she’s won 41 WTA singles titles and 11 doubles titles. She’s also won all four Grand Slams (Australian Open and U.S. Open in singles, and Wimbledon and the French Open in doubles). #11. Martina Hingis Mike Ehrmann // Getty Images – Career earnings: $24,749,074 – Turned professional: 1994 – Country: Switzerland When Martina Hingis reached all four majors finals (winning three) in 1997, she became the youngest Grand Slam winner in Open Era history at the age of 16. By the time she retired in 2017, the Swiss player had achieved 43 WTA singles titles and 13 doubles titles. She won six total Grand Slams (five in singles and one in doubles). You may also like: How many Olympic athletes hail from every state in the US #10. Svetlana Kuznetsova Clive Brunskill // Getty Images – Career earnings: $25,816,890 – Turned professional: 2000 – Country: Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova won 18 WTA singles titles and 16 doubles titles in her career. The St. Petersburg, Russia, native also won four total Grand Slams (two in singles and two in doubles). #9. Agnieszka Radwa ska Andy Lyons // Getty Images – Career earnings: $27,683,807 – Turned professional: 2004 – Country: Poland Agnieszka Radwa ska won 20 WTA singles titles and two doubles titles in her career. Though she never won a major, she became the first Polish player in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam final when she lost to Serena Williams in the 2012 Wimbledon championship. She is also the first Polish woman to win the WTA Finals. #8. Angelique Kerber Michael Steele // Getty Images – Career earnings: $31,886,468 – Turned professional: 2003 – Country: Germany Angelique Kerber has won 14 WTA singles titles, including three majors, since going pro in 2003. The Bremen native also took home a silver medal for Germany in singles at the 2016 Olympics. #7. Petra Kvitová Mike Hewitt // Getty Images – Career earnings: $34,193,491 – Turned professional: 2006 – Country: Czech Republic Since going pro in 2006, Petra Kvitová has won 29 WTA singles titles, including two Wimbledon championships. She also won a bronze medal in singles at the 2016 Olympics, representing the Czech Republic. #6. Victoria Azarenka Clive Brunskill // Getty Images – Career earnings: $34,449,618 – Turned professional: 2003 – Country: Belarus Victoria Azarenka has done a lot for her native Belarus. She was ranked #1 in the world for a combined 51 weeks, making her the first Belarusian player to top the WTA rankings. She also is the first Belarusian to win a Grand Slam title (she’s a two-time champion in both singles and doubles) and has two Olympic medals, taking home the bronze in singles and gold in mixed doubles at the 2012 games. You may also like: Black athletes who transformed American sports #5. Caroline Wozniacki Shaun Botterill // Getty Images – Career earnings: $35,233,415 – Turned professional: 2005 – Country: Denmark Caroline Wozniacki retired in January 2020, but not before making history. After 43 Grand Slam appearances, she was crowned champion at the 2018 Australian Open, making her the first Danish player to win a Grand Slam title. #4. Maria Sharapova Matthew Stockman // Getty Images – Career earnings: $38,777,962 – Turned professional: 2001 – Country: Russia Maria Sharapova is one of only six women to complete a career Grand Slam (winning at least one title at each major tournament), with five total championships. She is also the only Russian woman to have done so. Sharapova took home the silver medal in women’s singles at the 2012 Olympics before retiring in February 2020. As a businesswoman, Sharapova has appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank. #3. Simona Halep