Forbes ranking places Romania’s Simona Halep in top 5 highest-paid female athletes in the world

World No. 2 Simona Halep ranks fourth in Forbes’ ranking of the highest-paid female athletes in the world. The Romanian tennis ace had total earnings of USD 10.9 million between June 1, 2019, and June 1, 2020, of which USD 6.9 million from prizes won at tournaments and USD 4 million from sponsorships.

“Halep added her second career Slam title at Wimbledon last year, and her USD 36.5 million in career prize money ranks fourth all-time. (Williams is first at USD 93 million.) Halep’s sponsors include global brands Nike, Wilson, Hublot and Avon, as well as several more in her native Romania,” Forbes wrote about the Romanian tennis star.

The Forbes ranking looks at prize money, salaries, bonuses, endorsements and appearance fees between June 1, 2019, and June 1, 2020. The time frame means the coronavirus had only a marginal impact as tennis players missed out on prize money from just two and a half months of missed events, Forbes explained. However, earnings are expected to be down significantly in next year’s accounting.

Nine of the world’s ten highest-paid female athletes are tennis players. Naomi Osaka tops the list, with total earnings of USD 37.4 million, followed by Serena Willians - USD 36 million, Ashleigh Barty - USD 13.1 million, Simona Halep - USD 10.9 million, and Bianca Andreescu - USD 8.9 million.

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