Indian badminton starlet P.V. Sindhu has made it to the Forbes’ annual list of highest-paid female athletes. Sindhu is the only shuttler and Indian female sportsperson to feature in the list of 25 athletes. The two-time Olympic medallist and former world champion Sindhu has been ranked 12th behind basketball player Candace Parker with a total earning of $7.1 million.
Sindhu, in 2022, won her maiden Commonwealth Games women’s singles gold and Singapore Open Super 500 title.
Forbes considered earnings from on-court - salaries, bonuses, stipends, and prize money- and off-court - sponsorships and endorsement deals. It was the earnings from the sponsorship deals that stood out.
The list is dominated by tennis players, with 12 of the 25 athletes coming from the sport. Naomi Osaka, the world no. 42, topped the list with a total annual earning of $51.1 million, while Serena Williams is a distant second with $41.3 million and Eileen Gu, the freestyle skier, third with a total coffer of $20.1 million.
World no. 1 Iga Swiatek is sixth on the list despite winning the French Open and US Open grand slam titles. This list also suggested that on-court performances have little impact on athletes’ earnings, as the brand value determined their standings.
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In the top 12, apart from Sindhu, gymnast Simone Biles ($10 million), skier Eileen Gu, golfer Minjee Lee ($7.3 million), and basketball player Parker ($7.2 million) are the only entrants from outside tennis.
US women’s football stars Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, meanwhile, are tied at 19th with an earning of $5.7 million.
Americans also dominated the list, with 10 of the top 25 coming from the United States.
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