Move Over Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu, $21 Million Solidifies Chinese WTA Player as Tennis’ New Superstar
The tennis courts may have gone quiet for the season, but the buzz off-court is louder than ever! This time, it’s not about aces or match points—it’s all about the dollars. And just like the WTA rankings, the financial leaderboard has seen some surprising shake-ups. Stealing the spotlight? Chinese sensation Qinwen Zheng! In a jaw-dropping turn of events, she’s left big names like Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka in her rearview mirror with a remarkable financial milestone.
The list of the highest-paid female athletes for the year is out and the tennis stars have dominated the financial arena too. As per the data by Sportico, six of the top-10 highest-paid female athletes are WTA stars, and leading from the front is Coco Gauff, who became the highest-paid athlete with $30.4 Million. But in a massive achievement, Zheng has amassed an immense fortune and became the 4th highest-paid athlete.
The Chinese tennis sensation has garnered $20.6 Million in wealth leaving behind Osaka and Raducanu. Of this vast amount, a staggering $15 Million comes from her endorsement deals with brands like Nike, Lancome, Gatorade, Wilson, McDonald’s, Rolex, and more. Besides, her sensational performance on the courts which saw her win two titles this year (excluding the Gold Medal at the Paris Olympics,) helped her garner $5.6 Million. This amount is way higher than Osaka and Raducanu.
Osaka, who amassed $15.9 Million throughout the year, has a majority of her fortune coming from brands like Nike, Louis Vuitton, Mastercard, and Panasonic, which make $15 Million of her total earnings, as against only $870K from prize money. This leaves her behind Zheng by almost $5 Million. Similarly, Raducanu could only manage to secure a $14.7 Million fortune this year of which only $671K comes from prize money, and her deals with brands like Dior, Tiffany & Co., and Porsche account for the rest. And the reason this data becomes more interesting is because of the scenario from the last year.
