PV Sindhu: Only Indian In Forbes' List Of Highest Paid Women Athletes

According to the new list of highest-paid sportswomen released by Forbes, P V Sindhu is the only Indian athlete to find a spot in it. The list is topped by the Tennis player Serena Williams. "Sindhu remains India's most marketable female athlete. She became the first Indian to win the season ending BWF World Tour Finals in 2018," Forbes said.

After the advent of social media, marketing possibilities have introduced new domains for female athletes, where endorsements add a major amount to their net worth. Consider P V Sindhu. Out of her net worth of $8.5 million last year, only $500,000 came from prize money, whereas a hefty $8 million came from endorsements.

Total Earnings of Five Million Dollars

Sindhu is placed at the 13th spot in the Forbes list of highest-paid sportswomen in the world, released on Tuesday. With the total earnings of five million dollars, she remains the most remarkable female athlete of India. Serena Williams is in the first place, followed by Naomi Osaka. Forbes has revealed that they ranked sportspersons on the basis of their prize money, salaries, bonuses, endorsements, and appearance fees between 2018 and 2019. While only 15 women athletes managed to hit the 5 million marks, there are 1500 men athletes who will have the same level of total earnings this year, further highlighting the issue of gender pay gap in sports worldwide.

Forbes said that Tennis remains the most surefire way for female athletes to earn millions of dollars and add to their total earnings. "Female athletes in other areas like Soccer, Basketball, and Softball earn salaries of pennies as compared to their male counterparts."

Also, P V Sindhu has seen a slip in her Forbes ranking, as she held the seventh position last year, in the list of top-paid women athletes. Even last year, Sindhu was the only Indian female athlete to have made it to the list. Her total earnings stood at $8.5 million last year. This year, her earnings have dropped to $5.5 million, along with a drop in her ranking.

Also Read: The Gender Pay Gap In Sport: Why We Must Talk About It

Tennis Remains The Most Profitable

Forbes said that Tennis remains the most surefire way for female athletes to earn millions of dollars and add to their total earnings. "Female athletes in other areas like Soccer, Basketball, and Softball earn salaries of pennies as compared to their male counterparts," said the report, thus proving the prevalent gender pay gap in sports. However, after the advent of social media, marketing possibilities have introduced new domains for female athletes, where endorsements add a major amount to their net worth. Consider P V Sindhu. Out of her net worth of $8.5 million last year, only $500,000 came from prize money, whereas a hefty $8 million came from endorsements.

Dan Levy, who heads up the Olympics and female athletes divisions at Wasserman, says, "Pro athletes now have a way to connect with their fans that don't rely on network TV to build a fan base and connectivity to the consumers that brands want to reach. That change alone has helped women become much more powerful in the sports marketing world."

Picture Credit: The Indian Express

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