Coco Gauff Tops Forbes List as Highest-Paid Female Athlete for the Third Year in a Row
Written by b87fm on 12/19/2025
Coco Gauff of United States plays a forehand against Aryna Sabalenka during their Round Robin Singles match on day six of the WTA Finals Riyadh as part of the Hologic WTA Tour 2025 at King Saud University Indoor Arena on November 06, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images for WTA)
Coco Gauff continues to dominate far beyond the baseline.
For the third straight year, the 21-year-old tennis phenom has been named the world’s highest-paid female athlete, according to Forbes’ annual rankings released Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Coming off a banner year that included her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, a WTA victory in Wuhan, the launch of her own management company (Coco Gauff Enterprises), and a major endorsement deal with Mercedes-Benz, Forbes estimates Gauff earned $33 million in 2025. That total breaks down to roughly $8 million in prize money and $25 million in endorsements.
While the figure marks a slight dip from the $34.4 million Sports Illustrated estimated she earned in 2024, it was still more than enough to keep her firmly at No. 1. The milestone also places Gauff in rare territory: she is just the third woman athlete ever to surpass $30 million in a single year, joining Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka. Only 14 female athletes worldwide cleared the $10 million mark this year.
Osaka appeared on the list at No. 8 with an estimated $12.5 million, while WNBA star Angel Reese ranked No. 15 after earning approximately $9.4 million during her breakout season.
Forbes noted a key limitation in its rankings: only athletes actively competing were included. That meant global stars like Simone Biles, who hasn’t competed since the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Venus Williams, who played just three tournaments this year, were excluded despite their continued commercial power.
Even with the progress, the list underscores the massive pay gap that still exists in sports.
No woman cracked Forbes’ overall list of the 50 highest-paid athletes this year. The cutoff jumped to $53.6 million, more than $20 million higher than Gauff’s earnings. In contrast, the top 20 male athletes collectively earned about $2.3 billion — nearly eight times the combined earnings of the highest-paid women. Stephen Curry ranked second overall at $156 million, LeBron James came in at No. 6 with $133.8 million, and Kevin Durant rounded out the top 10 with $101.4 million.
Still, at just 21, Gauff’s continued dominance — both on the court and in the business world — signals that she’s not just leading women’s sports financially, but redefining what’s possible.
