The 10 highest-paid female athletes in the world
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Forbes has released its list of the 10 highest-paid women in sports, and it shows one clear thing — tennis remains the best-paying outlet for female athletes.
The list was compiled and ranked according to prize earnings in sport, in addition to sponsorship revenue, from June 2017 to June 2018.
Eight tennis players make up the list, with car racing and badminton the two outliers.
Many of the featured athletes will be fully focused on the upcoming US Open women's title, a championship which will boost the winner's earnings by a whopping $3.8 million — the richest prize in tennis history, according to Forbes.
But, even before the tournament gets underway, each athlete on this list has already made millions.
Keep scrolling to see the 10 highest-paid female athletes in 2018, ranked in ascending order.
10. Three-time Grand Slam tennis champion Angelique Kerber collected $7 million.
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Kerber reached the semifinal of the 2018 Australian Open, regaining form she had lost the previous year.
Her prize money for the period from June 2017 to June 2018 totalled $3 million, and because of deals with Porsche, Rolex, and SAP, she was able to bank a further $4 million.
9. Danica Patrick, the most successful female racing driver of all time, made $7.5 million.
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Danica Patrick is the most famous women's racing driver in the world, and called time on a wildly successful sports career in May.
She now has a clothes label, Warrior, and a fitness book. Forbes says she made $3 million from the Nascar season last year, and $4.5 million through sponsors.
8. Current world number one women's tennis player Simona Halep earned $7.7 million.
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Simona Halep, the best women's tennis player in the world according to the WTA, made most of her money ($6.2 million) through sport.
Her Adidas deal expired in 2017, so she did not receive as much as other athletes from sponsorships. She signed a new deal with Nike earlier this year.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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