Naomi Osaka made history, at the end of May, by being the highest-paid female ever in the Forbes list of the highest-paid athletes in the world. The young tennis player earned an estimated total pre-tax $37.4 million between June 2019 and May 2020.
She earned $3.4 million from tennis, and 10 times more from endorsements. Osaka is one of the most marketable women athletes in the world. Being born in and representing Japan, but moved to the United States as a child made Osaka a very popular star in both countries.
She signed important deals with Nike, Nissan or MasterCard, among others. Nike alone paid her more than $10 million last year. Also, Citizen Watch, Procter & Gamble and All Nippon Airways are among her sponsors, so is understandable where did the huge $34 million sponsorship earnings in the past year come from.
This is more than double her entire earnings from the game alone. In her entire career, the double Grand Slam winner – 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open – made less than $15 million from tennis.
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams are the only two female athletes on the Forbes 100 list. Osaka is ranked 29, while Serena is 33rd. The American made $36 million, $32 million of which came just from endorsements. This was the first time more than one woman made the ranks in the last four years. The 2016 list had Maria Sharapova along with Serena. Also, this is the first time a female athlete earned more than $30 million in one year.
All the big sports events have been canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. But everyone awaits that their favorites go back on the court to play so the fans can watch them from the stands or on TV.
While waiting for the high class tennis to be back, all eyes are on the next big event – the US Open, which may begin at the end of August. Naomi Osaka is the favorite number 5 to winning the US Open, with +1000 odds at Unibet. She is overtaken by Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu and Ashleigh Barty, each with +700, and Serena Williams, with +800. Unibet offers ante-post, live, pre-match bets and also streams all events from major tennis championships with Unibet TV.
Naomi Osaka is the only Japanese tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles title, and the only Asian player on the top of a tennis ranking – WTA. Her Grand Slam titles were also the only two times she reached past the fourth round at such a tournament. She faired well in her first season on the main draws at Grand Slam tournaments, featuring three times in the third round in 2016, at just 18 years old.
Osaka and Serena’s presence on the Forbes list as the only women in the rankings is another proof that successful tennis players benefit from huge endorsements. It is the only sport which ever featured female athletes in the Forbes list.
Roger Federer is No.1 in this ranking, being the first tennis player to do so. The Swiss earned $106.3 million, out of which $100 million from endorsements alone. The next tennis player on the list is Novak Djokovic, on the 23rd spot, with under $45 million. Rafael Nadal comes on 27, while Kei Nishikori is on the 40th position. The Japanese made just $1.1 million from tennis, while the rest of $31 million came from sponsorships.