Serena Williams Tops Forbes’ List of Highest-Paid Female Athletes

Serena Williams is used to being number one on the tennis courts and on Forbes Magazine’s annual list of highest-paid female athletes.

The tennis superstar earned $18.1 million between June 2017 and June 2018, according to Forbes on Tuesday, with the majority of her income coming from endorsement deals.

Only $62,000 of her earnings came from her tennis winnings during a year where she took time off because she was pregnant with her daughter, Olympia.

The 23-time grand slam champion earned the bulk of her earnings from endorsement deals with Nike, Intel, Gatorade and Beats, according to HuffPost. She topped the Forbes list in 2016 and 2017.

Tennis players dominated the top 10 with Caroline Wozniacki coming in second place earning $13 million, Sloane Stephens, who won her first Grand Slam in 2017 when she clinched the U.S. Open, came in third place earning $11.2 million. Garbine Murguruza placed fourth earning $11 million.

Maria Sharapova, who is often labeled Williams’ rival in the sport, despite losing to her 18-times in a row (her last victory against Williams came in 2004), landed in fifth place earning $10.5 million.