There is a lot to worry about in the world of women's sports: disparities in pay and facilities, poor working conditions, lack of media coverage, even outright abuse. Yet in the face of all those problems, there is also an undeniable sense of optimism. Leagues are getting new owners and expansion teams. TV ratings are up and networks are providing new homes for games. The money from sponsors is finally coming in and the startups are attracting investors.

That growth translates into athlete pay. The ten highest-paid female athletes in the world earned a total of 167 million dollars (145.62 million euros) before taxes in 2021, according to FORBES estimates, an increase of 23% compared to 2020 and a jump of 16 % with respect to the previous record of 143.3 million dollars (124.96 million euros) set in 2013. At the head is the tennis ace Naomi Osaka, who raised 57.3 million dollars (49.97 million euros), easily a record in one year for a female athlete. Serena Williams ranks second with 45.9 million dollars (40.02 million euros).

The picture is not entirely rosy: Osaka and Williams account for virtually all of the increase, and no other woman on this list has even the remotest chance of ranking among the world's highest-paid athletes of either sex. On the 2021 athlete list Osaka landed at No. 12 and Williams at No. 28; the third-highest-paid woman on this new list, Venus Williams, fell just short of the top 50 athletes overall ranking limit of $20 million.

In addition, the threshold for the top ten on the women's list is actually a bit lower than it was a decade ago: $5.7 million (€4.97 million), down from $6.1 million dollars (millions of euros) in 2012.

Experts insist, however, that new money and new sponsors are pouring into women's sports; it's just that the dollars are spread out among more athletes and making their way into new leagues. For the first time in at least a dozen years, a gymnast (Simone Biles, No. 4) and a basketball player (Candace Parker, No. 10) are among the highest-paid women. And while tennis still occupies five of the top 10 spots on the list, that's the sport's lowest tally in more than a decade and a dramatic turnaround from 2019, when it made all 10. Parker, along with soccer stars Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, who both narrowly missed the top ten, is especially encouraging because she comes from a team sport, where salaries are less than the prize money available in the individual sports.

These are the ten highest paid athletes.

1. Naomi Osaka

Nearly all of Naomi Osaka's $57.3 million in pre-tax earnings comes from an endorsement portfolio that has added more than ten partners, including Louis Vuitton, Sweetgreen and Tag Heuer. In recent months, the 24-year-old from Japan has acquired equity stakes in virtual reality startup StatusPRO and plant-based chicken maker Daring Foods, launched an NFT collection on Tom Brady's Autograph platform and a skin care line. the skin called Kinlò. On the court she had a slightly worse time, falling to 13th in the women's rankings and missing out on the Tokyo Olympics in the third round, but she did clinch her fourth Grand Slam title, at the Australian Open in February. An abdominal injury will prevent him from defending his crown at this year's tournament in Melbourne, which begins on Monday.

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2. Serena Williams

If it weren't for Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams would claim the record earnings for a female athlete with the $45.9 million (40.02 million euros) she earned in 2021. The athlete The 40-year-old played in just six WTA Tour tournaments and fell to 41st in the women's rankings, her worst mark since she returned to tennis in 2018 after the birth of her daughter. But it's still a big draw for advertisers, partnering with brands like Nike, Gatorade and, more recently, DirecTV. She is the executive producer of the film King Richard, which tells the story of her father, and has investments in more than 60 start-ups through her firm Serena Ventures. Williams said last month that she would miss the Australian Open because "I'm not where I need to be physically to compete."

3. Venus Williams

It's rare to see Venus Williams on the WTA Tour lately. In 2021 he played just nine tournaments and won just three matches in 2021. This would drive down the earnings of most players – in the world of tennis, falling down the rankings or losing a tournament usually results in reduced deals with sponsors. who expect to see their logos on television. But Williams' partnerships in recent years have focused more on her fame than her sport, and the 41-year-old has a lucrative side job making appearances at events and giving speeches. She has her own clothing brand, EleVen, which she has collaborated with K-Swiss, and like her sister Serena, she was an executive producer on the film King Richard. Also like her sister, she will skip this year's Australian Open, the first time either has appeared at the Melbourne tournament since 1997.

4. Simone Biles

The Tokyo Olympics didn't go as Simone Biles had planned: she withdrew from five events before again winning bronze on the balance beam. Even so, the 24-year-old had already secured her status as a gymnastics legend, and her story of resilience seemed to resonate with brands. She partnered with Autograph to launch NFT beginning in August, and joined mental health startup Cerebral as "director of impact" in October. She was also the face of a post-Olympics gymnastics tour, the Gold Over America tour, whose initials spell GOAT, a nod to her reputation as the sport's all-time greatest.

5. Garbiñe Muguruza

she won three tournaments and rose to No. 3 in the women's tennis rankings to trigger major sponsor bonuses. The 28-year-old Spaniard also added Jaguar and Nivea to her valuable array of endorsements with brands including Adidas and Babolat.

6. Jin Young Ko

at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in November, claiming $1.5 million and LPGA Player of the Year honors. Although she plays without a team contract, using a mixed set of clubs from different brands, the 26-year-old has valuable sponsorships from companies in her native South Korea, a country crazy for golf. Its partners include LG Electronics, Korean Air, Jeju SamDaSoo mineral water, and Rejuran skin care products.

7. P.V. Sindhu

PV Sindhu may be unknown in the US, but the 26-year-old badminton champion is hugely popular in India and has appeared in the top ten on this list before, in 2018. She followed up her winning performance from a silver medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 to a bronze last year in Tokyo, becoming the first Indian woman with two Olympic medals. It has added four sponsors since returning home, including edtech giant Byju and used car platform Spinny, plus partners like Li-Ning sportswear and India's Bank of Baroda.

8. Ashleigh Barty

No tennis player earned more on court in 2021 than Ashleigh Barty, the highest-ranked player in the world and reigning Wimbledon champion, and is the betting favorite to win the Australian Open this month in his homeland. But the 25-year-old, who recently signed an endorsement deal with Marriott Bonvoy, has served as a reminder of the pay disparities that still existed in some areas of the sport when she won the Western & Southern Open outside of Cincinnati in August. He took home $255,220 (222,820 euros) for the win, while the men's champion of the same tournament, Alexander Zverev, took home $654,815 (571,680 euros).

9. Nelly Korda

Nelly Korda may have finished one place behind Jin Young Ko on the LPGA prize money list and in the race for Player of the Year, but her year was perhaps even more Impressive, as she captured her first major title at the Women's PGA Championship in June, won Olympic gold in August, and finished 2021 as the top-ranked female golfer. The 23-year-old, recently named to Forbes' 2022 30 Under 30 list in the sports category, has more than ten endorsers, including Hanwha Q Cells, a manufacturer of solar cells, and UKG, a technology company focused on workforce management.

10. Candance Parker

Candace Parker is fresh off a WNBA championship run with the Chicago Sky, but with league salaries capped at around $200,000, she makes almost all of her money. with endorsements, partnering with brands like Adidas, Band-Aid, Capital One and CarMax. In fact, her annual salary off the court is more than double her total salary as a player during her 14 years in the WNBA. The 35-year-old became the first woman to grace the cover of an NBA 2K video game last year and was one of the star athletes who invested in the Alt trading card in a funding round announced in November. Parker also has a lucrative contract as an NBA analyst for Turner Sports, extended last year.