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MUMBAI:
Maria Sharapova has emerged as the top most earning female
athlete for the eighth year in a row, according to Forbes
list of World’s Highest-Paid Female Athletes.
Incidentally,
the top 10 list is dominated by Tennis players with as many
as seven of them making it to the top 10.
The
25-year-old French Open champion earned an estimated $27.1
million from July 2011-July 2012. A large chunk of that revenue
comes from brand endorsements followed by prize money.
China's
Li Na doubled her earnings to $18.4 million from $8 million
in last year's survey due to her victory in 2011 French Open.
Li Na had moved to world number 11 due to her French Open
win.
Third
on the list is Serena Williams with earnings of $16.3 million
followed by Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark with $13.7 million.
Other
Tennis players in the top 10 are current world number one
tennis player Victoria Azarenka ($9.7 million) of Belarus,
Ana Ivanovic ($7.2 million) of Serbia and Poland's Agnieszka
Radwanska ($6.9 million).
Only
three non-tennis players figure in top 10 which includes NASCAR's
Danica Patrick at fifth spot with $13 million earnings. South
Korea's women's Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na
was at seventh with $9 million of earnings while Taiwanese
world number one golfer Yani Tseng was 10th with $6.1 million.
Top
five women earners:
1.
Maria Sharapova, tennis, $27.1 million.
2. Li Na, tennis, $18.4 million.
3. Serena Williams, tennis, 16.3 million.
4. Caroline Wozniacki, tennis, $13.7 million.
5. Danica Patrick, motor racing, $13 million.
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