Distressing $45,000,000 Serena Williams’ Reality Leaves a Gaping Void That Looks Impossible for Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, and Others to Breach

With the growing popularity of women’s sports, sponsorship deals with female athletes have also increased tremendously. The rise in pay for women, however, still pales in comparison to men’s sports. Forbes recently released the List of Highest Paid Athletes in 2023, and unsurprisingly, it failed to feature the names of any young female players. The only female athlete that showed up in the Top 50 was Serena Williams, whose on-court earnings were dwarfed by that of Roger Federer.

This may come as concerning news to many as budding players like Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Aryna Sabalenka do not find a place on the list. Consequently, it shows the worrying effects of the incumbent financial gap, which seemingly ignores the talent of these players.

Apart from Serena Williams, players like Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka miss out on the Forbes list

Tennis was a male-dominated sport historically but it eventually led the torch for equal pay in sports. In the early 70s, tennis saw many radical changes, thanks to the efforts of the Original Nine. The nine women, spearheaded by veteran Billie Jean King, were the first to take a stand against gender discrimination. Many in the community, however, would argue that there is still a long way to go.

Serena Williams made her professional debut in 1995 and since then has amassed more than $470 million, although primarily through her business ventures. Before bidding the sport farewell, she earned $45.3 million making her world no. 49 in the Top 50 highest-paid athletes group by Forbes. The pressing issue is that she is the only female player featured on the Forbes list.

Despite being active for more years than her male counterpart, Roger Federer, Williams has slotted in significantly less money than the Swiss Maestro. Federer has checked in $95.1 million, which is more than double the on-court income of Serena Williams.

If one were to probe deeper, the underlying issue that emerges is that Williams’ main source of income has come from sponsors and not on-court pay. The path for young budding players like Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Aryna Sabalenka seems to be riddled with several obstacles, including climbing an unfair and disparate financial ladder.

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Williams’ mark on women’s tennis has been iconic. The 41-year-old secured many sponsors only because of the unbreakable legacy that has been established on the court. This leaves budding players like Gauff and Swiatek in a conundrum, where surpassing Williams’ legacy seems to be the only option.

The rising apprehension around the financial growth of young female tennis players is only going to rise. Williams has bid the sport farewell, so her presence on the 2024 edition of the list is unlikely.

The tables can turn only if the 41-year-old were to make a comeback, which seems quite difficult given that she is pregnant with her second child. Apart from Williams, only three female players have had their names featured in this list previously. Interestingly, all of them are tennis players, Naomi Osaka in 2017, Maria Sharapova in 2018, and Li Na in 2019.

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