Coco Gauff tops Forbes highest-earning female athlete for second year on the bounce thanks to huge endorsement deals

Coco Gauff has been ranked as Forbes' highest-earner of 2025. It is the second year in a row she has topped this list.

Money is definitely not a problem for the world number three. A couple of weeks ago she was perched on top of Sportico's list of highest paid females in the world. With an estimated $33 million earned in 2025, Gauff has collected the fourth-highest dollar figure for a female athlete ever according to the publication, behind Naomi Osaka's ($57.3 million) and Serena Williams' ($45.9 million) totals from 2021, as well as Williams $34.4 million earned a year ago.

It has been a mixed campaign on the tennis court for Gauff. She had a terrific clay season, reaching two consecutive WTA 1000 finals before clinching her second Grand Slam in the French Open. Her serve started to become a problem, seeing her have a barren spell of results. She recovered near the end of the year, winning the Wuhan Open ahead of an early exit at the WTA Finals. She had received some huge pay days' on the court, but that is not where the majority of her money has come from.

This year, on the court she collected around $8 million. This is a huge chunk of cash but a small percentage of her overall earnings. The extra $25 million or so came from endorsements. Gauff has the luxury of partnering with some of the biggest brands on the planet. Some of these include New Balance, Bose, Rolex, Baker Tilly and Mercedes Benz.

“As I’ve gotten older, I don’t want to just be a face of brands, but also be the brand,” Gauff told Forbes. “My dad has always said that this was his plan for me when I was younger, and it was up to me if I wanted to hop on board or not. And when I became 18, I knew that this is something that I wanted to work for.”

In the top 20, half of them are tennis players, showing the lucrative opportunities the sport can offer. Not just on the court but the endorsement deals can bring a huge sum of money their way.

Following Gauff, world number one Aryna Sabalenka is behind the 21-year-old in second. The Belarusian won a Grand Slam and reached another two finals, along with the WTA Finals defeat to Elena Rybakina. She collected a sum of $15 million on court - a lot more than Gauff but was overshadowed in away from the court with $15 million. Similar story to six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek. The trio have dominated women's tennis in the recent years, and are also the authoritative forces on this list. She finished with $25.1 million. $10.1 million was on court with another $15 million off it.

You do not need to look too far down to see the next tennis player. Zheng Qinwen missed a huge chunk of the season with an elbow injury, missing the chance of earning more on court. However, a huge $21 million off court compared to the $1.6 million in the sport sees her finish fifth. Australian Open champion Madison Keys (13.4 million) sits in sixth. Naomi Osaka and Rybakina both sit on $12.5 million while

Jessica Pegula (12.3 million) sits just behind them completing the top 10. Amanda Anisimova completed a breakout campaign at the pinnacle of tennis with a huge sum earned on court. Overall, she collected $11.3 million. You have to go down to 17th to where the final tennis player on the list sits. Jasmine Paolini ($8.3 million) makes it 10 out of 20 on the list.