Top paid female athletes in India

Women sportspersons have always struggled when it comes to receiving the same fame and fortune as their male counterparts. Especially in developing countries, this problem is more apparent. In most developed countries however, this gap seems to be slowly decreasing.  Sportspersons like Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams are currently the highest earning women sportspersons in the world.

Where Williams is currently ranked number one tennis player in singles, Sharapova is the top Russian Tennis player and ranked number six in the world. Both of them have competed against each other over 18 times and Williams has won sixteen of those matches; yet because of a higher number of endorsements and sponsorships, Sharapova is currently ranked as the highest paid athlete in the world for the tenth consecutive year. Between June 2013 and June 2014 she earned around $24.4 million, according to Forbes.

The Russian player currently endorses Nike, Porsche, Samsung Electronics, Tag Heuer, Evian and Head. It was also announced in June that she will be the face of Avon’s new fragrance; the deal’s annual worth is $1 million. A promising entrepreneur, Sharapova recently launched a line of candies called Sugarpova and also has a stake in a skincare line, Supergoop.

After Sharapova, Chinese player Li Na ranks no. two on the list, having made $23.6 million between June 2013 and June 2014. She is the first Asian tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles event and currently endorses, Nike, Mercedes, Samsung, Rolex amongst others.

The Sydney Morning Herald>

Ranking number three on the list is Williams, having earned $22 million in the same time period as mentioned earlier. She holds the record of winning $11million dollars as prize money. Apart from endorsing Nike, Wilson, Gatorade, she also has stakes in Sleep sheets and Miami Dolphins.

Ranking number four is a non-tennis player, Kim Yuna, a South Korean figure skater, who earned a total of $16.3 million in the past year. Even though she recently retired, she continues to endorse products and is currently one of the biggest stars in her country, where she has over a dozen corporate partners.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2014/08/12/the-worlds-highest-paid-female-athletes-2014/?ss=forbeswoman