Romanian tennis star Simona Halep is not only the third best player in the world, but also the third highest earner so far this year, according to WTA.

The triumph in the Dubai Open brought her a check for USD 456,000. Halep has won a total of USD 854,000 in prize money since the beginning of this year. She ranks third after American Serena Williams and Russian Maria Sharapova, who are also the leaders of the WTA rankings.

Halep, 23, has reached USD 7.4 million in prize winnings so far in her career. She is 44th in an all-time ranking of the highest earners in women’s tennis.

Serena Williams ranks first, with more than USD 66 million won in her career, almost twice as much as second-ranked Maria Sharapova, who has gained USD 34 million. Serena’s older sister, Venus Williams, is third, with more than USD 30.5 million in career prize money.

Former number ones, such as Belgian Kim Clijsters, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, American Lindsay Davenport, German Steffi Graf, American Martina Navratilova, Belgian Justine Henin and Swiss Martina Hingis, complete the top 10. Each of these players has made more than USD 20 million in prize money from tennis.

editor@romania-insider.com