Zheng Qinwen cashes in on incredible rise, finishes top five in World's Highest Paid Female Athletes for 2024
WTA
Zheng Qinwen has been one of the top tennis success stories this season and this seems to also reflect in her endorsements and portfolio as she finished fourth in the highest paid female athletes for 2024 as per Sportico.
Albeit this is perhaps not a surprise given that her compatriot in freestyle skier Eileen Gu finished second with $22.1million earned. While the top Chinese tennis star earned $20.6million.
It is a season that saw her win the Olympic gold medal, finish runner-up at the Australian Open and WTA Finals. She also ended the 2024 season at a career high of World No.5. She is a newcomer to the list for 2024.
The top 15 earned $221m which is up 27%. Coco Gauff is the third woman to crack $30m after Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka. Nine tennis players are included in the list with Zheng Qinwen a newcomer in the top 10.
Also it caused some questions as Emma Raducanu earned more than both Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina combined despite barely winning any prize money in 2024. Naomi Osaka also trumped other top stars. But Iga Swiatek for instance took a while to find her footing in this list and now sits third with $21.4m. $13m of that is endorsements which would've been unheard of a few years ago.
Simone Biles who is often talked up as the best athlete in the world and Caitlin Clark both struggle with their earnings with $135k and $100k each despite marked endorsements compared to for instance Nelly Korda or even Aryna Sabalenka who is one of the only players to earn more in prize money than endorsements.
An incredible year for Qinwen and one that has seen her appear on multiple magazine covers including Vogue and also take on multiple brand deals. As one of China's brightest sporting stars, the endorsements are only likely to increase in 2025.
Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu ranked second on Sportico’s list of the world’s highest-paid female athletes this year, earning USD22.1 million. China’s top tennis player Zheng Qinwen was fourth with USD20.6 million. pic.twitter.com/NfxGpfjUk8
— Yicai 第一财经 (@yicaichina) December 5, 2024
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