Rising Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has surpassed the legendary Serena Williams as the world’s highest-paid female athlete, with estimated earnings of $37.4m (UGX 140,098,539,000).
According to Forbes, 22-year-old Naomi Osaka has been able to maintain the lead and topple Serena as most of her earnings have been from prize money and endorsements accumulated over the last year.
The earnings have been considered as the highest ever earned by a female athlete in a 12-month period making it a record for Osaka who is a two time Grand Slam champion. She earned $1.4m (UGX 5,301,025,800) more than Williams who had topped the list for the last four years.
The previous record-holder for the highest 12-month earnings for a female athlete had been Maria Sharapova, who in 2015 raked in $29.7 million.
In 2018, Naomi Osaka gained the spotlight after she beat Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final, which was regarded as controversial match by some as Williams was given three code violations by the umpire.
Naomi Osaka becomes the highest-paid female athlete
The Japanese tennis player, who is now ranked as No. 10 on the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) rankings after falling from number one, also won the 2019 Australian Open Grand Slam which further put her into the spotlight.
Female tennis players have always occupied the top spot on Forbes’s women’s list since 1990 with either Williams or Russian Sharapova leading the way from 2004.
Osaka has won five titles on the WTA Tour, including two titles at both the Grand Slam and Premier Mandatory levels. She also won her first two Grand Slam singles titles in back-to-back Grand Slam tournaments at the 2018 US Open and the 2019 Australian Open and is the first player to achieve this feat since Jennifer Capriati in 2001.
Source: Sky Sports
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