WTA Prize Money Leaders Update | Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula lead ahead of Indian Wells

Monday, 02 March 2026 at 19:24

We head into Indian Wells which begins on Wednesday 4 March on the WTA side with tournaments this past week in Austin and Merida won by Peyton Stearns and Cristina Bucsa somewhat surprisingly given the fields that were assembled.

Iva Jovic was the leading light in Austin but was dumped out by Aussie ace Ajla Tomljanovic who continues to show that on her day she is still very much a threat for the top names. She also continued her streak of dumping out Williams sisters albeit no retirement this time from Venus.

But who fared best from this week in our Prize Money Leaders round-up, a look back at the top earners in singles and doubles which gives more of an accurate representation of who are the top players on the tour so far in 2026.

For instance Elena Rybakina sits top of the tree as the champion at the Australian Open. The entire top 10 remains the same, Jessica Pegula was due to play in Austin but she decided to withdraw which perhaps was a bit annoying for her close friend Madison Keys who wa wanting to play but due to ranking only one top ten player is allowed to be present at these tournaments.

New surprises and no surprises as players shift but top 10 remains unchanged

So it goes in this top 10, Rybakina is followed by Sabalenka, Pegula, Svitolina, Gauff, Swiatek, Muchova, Mboko, Mertens and Bencic which is accurate for those at the top this season.

Shuai Zhang is perhaps the surprise face in the top 20. She jumped from 19th to 16th earlier today and jumped up to $534k. She was joined in the top 20 by Bucsa who sealed the title in Merida and she went from 54th to 20th. Magdalena Frech also had a strong week going from 74th to 34th.

Peyton Stearns, a champion this week.

Peyton Stearns zooms towards the top 30 also going up to 31st after winning in Austin. A bit of a title run to remember given her past at the college there and the Longhorn salute has become part of her on court persona. Others to rise include the popular Zeynep Sonmez who goes up to 42nd. Emma Navarro moves to 71st.

While after strong weeks, Katie Boulter, Taylor Townsend and Renata Zarazua enter the top 100. Clara Tauson, Barbora Krejcikova, Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Sorana Cirstea are among those to fall from one position to six over the course of the week due to others rising around them.

WTA Prize Money Leaders Update

(as per wtatennis.com)

Standing	Name	Nat	Singles	Doubles	Mixed	Total
1	RYBAKINA, ELENA	KAZ	2,872,182	–	–	2,872,182
2	SABALENKA, ARYNA	BLR	1,606,482	7,815	–	1,614,297
3	PEGULA, JESSICA	USA	1,551,390	29,443	–	1,580,833
4	SVITOLINA, ELINA	UKR	1,280,916	1,010	–	1,281,926
5	GAUFF, COCO	USA	1,262,965	5,750	–	1,268,715
6	SWIATEK, IGA	POL	1,070,965	–	–	1,070,965
7	MUCHOVA, KAROLINA	CZE	1,052,876	7,815	–	1,060,691
8	MBOKO, VICTORIA	CAN	986,262	26,467	–	1,012,729
9	MERTENS, ELISE	BEL	698,511	299,939	–	998,450
10	BENCIC, BELINDA	SUI	981,619	–	–	981,619
11	ANISIMOVA, AMANDA	USA	728,474	–	–	728,474
12	PAOLINI, JASMINE	ITA	631,195	58,817	–	690,012
13	ANDREEVA, MIRRA	RUS	681,651	7,815	–	689,466
14	JOVIC, IVA	USA	573,556	23,922	–	597,478
15	OSTAPENKO, JELENA	LAT	405,449	160,066	–	565,515
16	ZHANG, SHUAI	CHN	192,851	341,579	–	534,430
17	SAKKARI, MARIA	GRE	497,369	–	–	497,369
18	KREJCIKOVA, BARBORA	CZE	472,178	14,175	–	486,353
19	TAUSON, CLARA	DEN	421,430	59,812	–	481,242
20	BUCSA, CRISTINA	ESP	345,953	120,341	–	466,294
21	WANG, XINYU	CHN	373,261	27,148	–	400,409
22	KALINSKAYA, ANNA	–	368,222	14,243	–	382,465
23	OSAKA, NAOMI	JPN	382,192	–	–	382,192
24	KEYS, MADISON	USA	381,876	–	–	381,876
25	SHNAIDER, DIANA	–	342,404	31,443	–	373,847
26	PUTINTSEVA, YULIA	KAZ	354,991	–	–	354,991
27	ALEXANDROVA, EKATERINA	–	296,222	52,828	–	349,050
28	LINETTE, MAGDA	POL	319,287	22,027	–	341,314
29	BAPTISTE, HAILEY	USA	311,480	29,781	–	341,261
30	JOINT, MAYA	AUS	252,193	84,901	–	337,094
31	STEARNS, PEYTON	USA	301,232	30,791	–	332,023
32	BEJLEK, SARA	CZE	312,898	14,243	–	327,141
33	INGLIS, MADDISON	AUS	310,761	14,243	–	325,004
34	FRECH, MAGDALENA	POL	322,489	–	–	322,489
35	HUNTER, STORM	AUS	254,469	66,981	–	321,450
36	KRUNIC, ALEKSANDRA	SRB	10,200	309,864	–	320,064
37	RADUCANU, EMMA	GBR	317,419	–	–	317,419
38	SINIAKOVA, KATERINA	CZE	207,764	105,716	–	313,480
39	TJEN, JANICE	INA	257,794	53,558	–	311,352
40	DANILINA, ANNA	KAZ	309,864	–	–	309,864
41	NOSKOVA, LINDA	CZE	284,101	25,288	–	309,389
42	SONMEZ, ZEYNEP	TUR	305,227	–	–	305,227
43	BOUZKOVA, MARIE	CZE	247,274	49,067	–	296,341
44	BIRRELL, KIMBERLY	AUS	226,182	67,786	–	293,968
45	EALA, ALEXANDRA	PHI	264,694	27,298	–	291,992
46	RUSE, ELENA-GABRIELA	ROU	258,177	31,695	–	289,872
47	POTAPOVA, ANASTASIA	AUT	264,152	20,717	–	284,869
48	SIEGEMUND, LAURA	GER	186,669	96,786	–	283,455
49	VALENTOVA, TEREZA	CZE	273,707	9,150	–	282,857
50	CIRSTEA, SORANA	ROU	260,818	14,243	–	275,061

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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