Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams’ Combined $90 Million Effort Put Tennis on Top as They Surpass Sporting Legends Like Simone Biles and Megan Rapinoe

Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams are one of the biggest icons of tennis. Although Williams stands taller regarding records and experience, Osaka’s hold on people is immense. Thus, putting her on the same pedestal as the 23 times Grand Slam champion in terms of popularity.

Further, these two ladies from tennis are one of this generation’s most adored female athletes. People find their journey inspiring and their mindset futuristic. Therefore, even though they have played fewer matches than other WTA professionals, their face value brought their cart to the list of highest-paid female athletes. 

Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams are the flag bearers

The four times Grand Slam champion, Osaka, who struggled with her form the entire year, holds the first position and Williams, who was only present for the grass and American swing, holds the second position on the list of highest-earning female athletes on the planet.

Further, they are the only ones who cracked Sportico’s top 100 athletes-male or female. As per the results, Osaka has earned a total of 53.2 million dollars this year. Whereas Williams made 35.3 million dollars even after staying on the sideline from last year’s Wimbledon to this year’s Wimbledon. 

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Following them in the third position, the 19-year-old British tennis professional, Emma Raducanu, stands with a sum of 23 million dollars under her name. After Raducanu, the freestyle skier Eileen Gu and the artistic gymnast Simone Biles are on the list. 

Osaka and Williams’ performance this season

Neither Williams nor Osaka‘s game was the highlight of this season. Many professionals, such as Iga Swiatek and Coco Guaff, outshined the legends. Speaking of their game. The Japanese incurred initial round dismissal in all the Grand Slams she participated in and gave only one noteworthy run. She made up to the finals of the Miami Open. 

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Williams made a singles comeback after a leg injury in greens of London. Though because of the lost grip, she failed to get past her opening-round opponent. Thereafter, she enrolled for the WTA 1000 events of Toronto and Cincinnati, and the US Open.

The 41-year-old secured her first win in Canadian Masters, faced an opening round dismissal in Cincinnati Masters, and executed a run till the third round of the US Open. Following that, she hung her racket.