tennis

Highest-Paid Tennis Players 2021: Federer, Serena And Nadal Win Even When They Can’t Take The Court

TOPLINE Champion tennis player Naomi Osaka announced Monday afternoon on Twitter that she will withdraw from the French Open after organizers fined her $15,000 over her decision to boycott press conferences during the event for mental health reasons.



KEY FACTS The decision came one day after Roland Garros, the organizer of the French Open, announced that Osaka would be fined for not attending a mandatory press conference Sunday morning in Paris.



Osaka, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, beat out Romanian player Patricia Maria Țig in straight sets Sunday morning, but skipped out on the traditional post-match presser after saying last week that facing media questions can be harmful for athletes’ mental health.



&#8220;I never wanted to be a distraction,&#8221; the 23-year-old said on Twitter Monday, adding that she&#8217;s &#8220;suffered long bouts of depression since the U.S. Open in 2018&#8221; and gets &#8220;huge waves of anxiety before&#8221; speaking in press conferences.



CRUCIAL QUOTE &#8220;This isn&#8217;t a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago,&#8221; Osaka said Monday. &#8220;I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris.&#8221;



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://t.co/LN2ANnoAYD">pic.twitter.com/LN2ANnoAYD</a>&mdash; NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) <a href="https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1399422304854188037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Osaka&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1397665030015959040?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;on Twitter last week that she would not do any press conferences during the open because she felt they perpetuated a disregard for athletes&#8217; mental health, citing examples of athletes breaking down in a press room after a tough loss. “I believe that the whole situation is&nbsp;kicking a person while they’re down,&nbsp;and I don’t understand the reasoning behind it,” she said. After Osaka didn’t show to the Sunday press conference, organizers of the four Grand Slams—the world’s most prestigious tennis tournaments, including the French and U.S. Opens—said in a statement that “a core element of the Grand Slam regulations is the responsibility of the players to engage with the media, whatever the result of their match.” They also warned that&nbsp;if Osaka further violated any media obligations, she could receive additional fines, as well as face suspension from the Paris tournament and even future&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/article/statement-from-grand-slam-tournaments-regarding-naomi-osaka" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grand Slam tournament suspensions</a>.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h4>



Osaka received an outpouring of support on social media following her tournament withdrawal, with many people—including celebrities, politicians and fellow athletes—wishing her well and applauding her decision to speak up about mental health. “As athletes we are taught to take care of our body, and perhaps the mental &amp; emotional aspect gets short shrift,” Martina Navratilova, often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Martina/status/1399443582671540231" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;shortly after Osaka’s announcement. “This is about more than doing or not doing a press conference.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h4>



$37 million. That’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2020/05/22/naomi-osaka-is-the-highest-paid-female-athlete-ever-topping-serena-williams/?sh=64b43cdf1fd3">how much money</a>&nbsp;Osaka made from May 2019 to May 2020, according to&nbsp;Forbes, making her the highest-paid female athlete of all time.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/05/30/naomi-osaka-fined-15000-and-faces-suspension-over-boycotting-press-conferences/">Naomi Osaka Fined $15,000 And Faces Suspension Over Boycotting Press Conferences</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamzagoria/2021/05/30/naomi-osaka-fined-15000-for-french-open-media-boycott-repeat-violations-could-mean-default-from-the-tournament/">Naomi Osaka Fined $15,000 For French Open Media Boycott, Repeat Violations Could Mean ‘Default From The Tournament’</a> (Forbes)



By Jonathan Ponciano, Forbes Staff

gettyimages-1198783851-594×594

Naomi Osaka Withdraws From French Open After Media Boycott Fine

Miami Open 2019 – Day 3

The Highest-Paid Tennis Players 2020: They Are Barely Playing, But The Top 10 Pros Still Earned $340 Million

The 2019 season-capping victory for tennis star Ashleigh Barty was one she will not likely soon forget. Her triumph at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China, in November gave her a fourth title for the year and paid her $4.4 million, a record for any men’s or women’s tennis event, which pushed her winnings for 2019 to $11.3 million.



The prize money lands the Australian ace at No. 3 on this year’s ranking of the highest-paid female athletes, with a total haul of $13.1 million. She ranks well below global icon Serena Williams, who landed at No. 2 with $36 million, $32 million of which was paid out from endorsement deals. Both were eclipsed by Naomi Osaka, who earned just $3.4 million in prize money but landed at No. 1 with $37.4 million thanks to her own massive sponsor roster.&nbsp;



For female athletes out to get rich from their dominance, tennis is the go-to sport. Nine of the world’s ten highest-paid female athletes make their living with a racket, with the only exception this year being Alex Morgan, co-captain of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, who lands at No. 10 with $4.6 million. The aces can thank Rosie Casals.



Casals, whose 112 doubles tournament titles are the second-highest total ever, was one of nine female tennis players, dubbed the Original 9, who broke ranks with the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association a half-century ago to protest the dollar difference between male and female prize money, which reached as high as 12-to-1 at events. The fight—which led to players including Casals and her longtime doubles partner Billie Jean King being banned from events sanctioned by the USLTA—gave birth to the Virginia Slims Tour, which later morphed into the WTA.&nbsp;



“We knew what we were doing was very important, but in some ways, we didn’t have anything to lose,” says Casals, who will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the tour’s first event next month. “I’m proud to see where women’s tennis is 50 years later and to know that we were instrumental in the success of the game today.”



The U.S. Open was the first Grand Slam tournament to offer gender pay equality, in 1973, but it would be 28 years before another Slam followed suit: the Australian Open in 2001. The biggest tennis events now pay equal prize money to men and women; Wimbledon in 2007 was the last Grand Slam to update its payouts. But it was a long road for women’s tennis players, who faced the same fight for better pay that athletes in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanaglass/2020/05/02/federal-judge-upends-us-womens-national-teams-fight-for-equal-pay/">soccer</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanaglass/2020/01/14/wnba-players-union-reach-progressive-eight-year-collective-bargaining-agreement/">basketball</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolschram/2019/08/29/this-falls-dream-gap-tour-sees-top-womens-hockey-players-working-to-advance-their-game/">hockey</a>&nbsp;have tackled in recent years.



Outside of prize money, Osaka and Williams remain tennis’ only female superstars, with Osaka setting a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2020/05/22/naomi-osaka-is-the-highest-paid-female-athlete-ever-topping-serena-williams/">record for female athletes</a>&nbsp;this year, beating the earnings record set by Maria Sharapova in 2015 when she earned&nbsp;$29.7 million and unseating Williams, who held the No. 1 position for the past four years.



Osaka scored a slew of new endorsement deals following her back-to-back Grand Slam titles at the 2018 U.S. Open and the 2019 Australian Open, including Nike&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nike" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NKE</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nike">+1.2%</a>, which committed roughly $10 million annually to win her away from Adidas. Osaka now has 15 endorsement partners, including global brands like Nissan Motor, Shiseido and Yonex.



Morgan is the lone non-tennis player to crack the top ten, thanks to a massive endorsement portfolio worth ten times as much as her roughly $400,000 on-field salary and bonus last year. She has more than a dozen current sponsors, including Nike, Coca-Cola&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/coca-cola" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">KO</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/coca-cola">+0.4%</a>, Volkswagen and AT&amp;T. Her latest is an Alex Morgan Barbie Doll, as part of the brand’s Role Model Series.



Morgan’s fellow U.S. women’s national soccer team co-captain Megan Rapinoe just missed the top ten with an estimated $4.2 million. Her profile and earnings soared after she led the U.S. to the 2019 World Cup championship as the tournament’s Golden Boot&nbsp;winner and became a cultural icon&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2019/07/22/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/Rapinoe.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">following attacks by President Donald Trump</a>. In addition to a lucrative book deal, she cashed in with a flurry of speaker engagements, with fees approaching six figures. Rapinoe also endorses Nike, Budweiser, BodyArmor, Visa and at least a half-dozen more brands.



“We can’t be complacent,” Casals says about the ongoing pay disparity between men and women. “We must continue to improve the exposure and profile of the women’s game so the value continues to rise. We were fortunate, but we need more women in places of power in business.”



Our earnings tally looks at prize money, salaries, bonuses, endorsements and appearance fees between June 1, 2019, and June 1, 2020. The time frame means the coronavirus had only a marginal impact as tennis players missed out on prize money from just two and a half months of missed events. But earnings will be down significantly in next year’s accounting. In addition to the cancellation of Wimbledon, the WTA canceled its seven events in China scheduled for October and November, including the lucrative WTA Finals. Prize money for the events in China would have totaled&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/sports/tennis/wta-tour-china-tournaments-canceled.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">roughly $30 million</a>. Almost all players will also have reductions in their apparel and racket contracts for not meeting minimum play requirements.



1. Naomi Osaka



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="401" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-1198783851-594x594-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-45396" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-1198783851-594x594-1.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/gettyimages-1198783851-594x594-1-300x203.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Total Earnings: $37.4 million



Prize Money: $3.4 million



Endorsements: $34 million



Osaka held dual citizenship growing up but made the wise choice to represent Japan ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, now scheduled for 2021. The decision made her an even hotter commodity for Olympic sponsors, like Procter &amp; Gamble&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/procter-gamble" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PG</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/procter-gamble">+0.7%</a>, All Nippon Airways and Nissin, which signed endorsement deals with Osaka to use her around marketing for the Games. Among all tennis players, only Roger Federer made more than Osaka from endorsements.



2. Serena Williams



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="698" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-1024x698.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47139" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-1024x698.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-scaled-300x205.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-scaled-600x409.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-768x524.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-1536x1047.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/RTS2LTFE-2048x1397.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> (Photo by REUTERS/Carl Recine) </figcaption></figure></div>



Total Earnings: $36 million



Prize Money: $4 million



Endorsements: $32 million



Endorsement partners like Nike, Gatorade, Procter &amp; Gamble and Beats get a boost from Serena’s massive social media following of nearly 40 million fans across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Williams and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/2020/07/21/serena-williams-natalie-portman-and-uswnt-legends-part-of-female-ownership-group-bringing-womens-professional-soccer-to-los-angeles/">part of an investment group</a>&nbsp;that was awarded the newest National Women’s Soccer League expansion team in Los Angeles this summer. Their daughter, Olympia, is also part of the group and at 2 years old became the youngest known professional sports team owner.



3. Ashleigh Barty



Total Earnings: $13.1 million



Prize Money: $10.1 million



Endorsements: $3 million



Barty won her first career Slam at the 2019 French Open, triggering lucrative bonuses from sponsors Fila and Head. She also endorses Rado, Jaguar, Vegemite, Banana Boat, and Esmi. In June 2019, she became the first Australian woman ranked No. 1 since 1976.



4. Simona Halep



Total Earnings: $10.9 million



Prize Money: $6.9 million



Endorsements: $4 million



Halep added her second career Slam title at Wimbledon last year, and her $36.5 million in career prize money ranks fourth all-time. (Williams is first at $93 million.) Halep’s sponsors include global brands Nike, Wilson, Hublot and Avon, as well as several more in her native Romania.



5. Bianca Andreescu



Total Earnings: $8.9 million



Prize Money: $4.9 million



Endorsements: $4 million



Andreescu made history as the first Canadian, male or female, to win a Grand Slam event when she captured the 2019 U.S. Open. The title and her No. 5 year-end world ranking triggered lucrative bonuses from sponsor Nike, which renegotiated her contract earlier in the year. Since the Open title, she’s added deals with Rolex, Gatorade, Canadian paper company Royale, and Sleep Country mattresses.



6. Garbiñe Muguruza



Total Earnings: $6.6 million



Prize Money: $2.1 million



Endorsements: $4.5 million



The Spanish-Venezuelan tennis star’s runner-up finish at this year’s Australian Open was only her second time advancing past the fourth round of a Grand Slam since her 2017 Wimbledon title. But she maintains a strong endorsement portfolio with Adidas, Beats, Rolex, Cesar insurance, Babolat and Maui Jim sunglasses. Her Adidas deal is one of the bigger apparel deals in the sport.



7. Elina Svitolina



Total Earnings: $6.4 million



Prize Money: $5.4 million



Endorsements: $1 million



The Ukrainian reached the semifinals of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2019, and she matched her career-high No. 3 world ranking. Svitolina counts Nike, Wilson, Hublot, Damilano Barolo wines, and EAFit nutrition products as sponsors.



8. Sofia Kenin



Total Earnings: $5.8 million



Prize Money: $4.8 million



Endorsements: $1 million



Kenin won the Australian Open in January, building on her WTA Most Improved Player Award in 2019. At 21, she was the youngest American to win a Slam since Serena Williams in 2002. Her main sponsors are Fila and Babolat.



9. Angelique Kerber



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47144" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-scaled-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1090048146-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Total Earnings: $5.3 million



Prize Money: $1.3 million



Endorsements: $4 million



Kerber’s three Grand Slam wins since the start of 2016 are the most in women’s tennis. Her most lucrative sponsorship deal is with Adidas, which has partnered with the German tennis star since 2013. Other endorsements include Yonex, Generali, Porsche and Lavazza.



10. Alex Morgan



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="647" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-1024x647.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47143" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-1024x647.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-scaled-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-scaled-600x379.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-768x485.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-1536x971.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1159663800-2048x1295.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption> (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Total Earnings: $4.6 million



Salary/bonus: $400,000



Endorsements: $4.2 million



Morgan extended her deal with Nike after the 2019 World Cup with a clause that guaranteed pay for 18 months even if she was not playing. Nike had previously been criticized for a lack of maternity protection in its contracts with female athletes. Morgan gave birth to her first child in May. She is launching her own media company, with more details expected by the end of the year.



-Kurt Badenhausen,Forbes Staff

Rogers Cup Toronto – Day 7

Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2020: 50 Years After Creation Of Women’s Tour, Tennis Dominates Earnings List

The 22-year-old Japanese tennis player racked up $37 million in earnings in the past year, more than any other female athlete in history.



Naomi Osaka was only a year old when Serena Williams won her first grand slam title in 1999. Nineteen years later, Osaka beat Williams at the U.S. Open finals to win her first grand slam. It was one of the most controversial matches in Open history involving three code violations called against Williams. Now the 22-year-old ace has beaten her legendary rival once again, this time for bragging rights as the highest-paid female athlete in the world.



Osaka earned $37.4 million the last 12 months from prize money and endorsements, $1.4 million more than Serena, setting an all-time earnings record for any female athlete in a single year; Maria Sharapova held the prior record with $29.7 million in 2015.



Osaka ranks No. 29 among the 100 highest-paid athletes, while Williams is No. 33. It’s the first time since 2016 that two women have made the ranks of the top 100 highest paid athletes, with the full 2020 list set for release next week.



“To those outside the tennis world, Osaka is a relatively fresh face with a great back story,” says David Carter, a sports business professor at USC Marshall School of Business. “Combine that with being youthful and bicultural, two attributes that help her resonate with younger, global audiences, and the result is the emergence of a global sports marketing icon.”



The ascension puts an end to a decisive winning streak for Williams, who has been the world’s highest-paid female athlete each of the past four years, with annual pre-tax income ranging from $18 million to $29 million. The 23-time grand slam champion has collected almost $300 million during her career from endorsers who have swarmed the 38-year-old star.



Osaka’s rise to the head of the charts was a perfect&nbsp; convergence of several factors. She first proved herself on the court, with back-to-back grand slam titles at the 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Australian Open. That plus her heritage—a Japanese mother and Haitian-American father—helped separate her from the pack; at only 20 when she won her Open title, she had a cool factor and engaging personality.



Osaka’s roots are crucial to her endorsement stardom. She was born in Japan. When she was three, she and her family moved to the U.S., settling on Long Island and then heading to Florida; older sister, Mari, also plays on the pro circuit.



She turned pro in 2014, a month before her 16th birthday. She cracked the WTA’s top 40 in 2016 and won her first title in March 2018 at Indian Wells. In the 12 months that followed, she became the first Japanese player to win a slam, and first Asian tennis player ever to be ranked No. 1 in the world.



Osaka maintains dual citizenship but made the wise choice to represent Japan ahead of the since-postponed Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. The decision made her an even hotter commodity for Olympic sponsors, like Procter &amp; Gamble, All Nippon Airways and Nissin, who signed endorsement deals with Osaka to use her around marketing for the Games, now scheduled for summer 2021. She is expected to be one of the faces of the Olympics that had triggered<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.olympic.org/news/unprecedented-levels-of-excitement-around-the-olympic-games-tokyo-2020" target="_blank"> unprecedented levels of excitement</a> among the Japanese public before the coronavirus.



A Decade Of Highest-Paid Female Athletes



Tennis has been a winning strategy for highest-paid female athletes. Before Naomi Osaka arrived on the scene, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams were the top earning women of the decade, holding the top spot for five and four years, respectively.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Tennis-earnings.png" alt="" class="wp-image-45395" width="688" height="447" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Tennis-earnings.png 755w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Tennis-earnings-300x195.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Tennis-earnings-600x391.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px" /></figure>



The last top-earning female athlete, outside of Williams and Sharapova, was Serena’s sister Venus in 2003. Tennis remains the only route for women to rank among the top-paid male sports stars. Sharapova, Li Na, Serena, and now Osaka are the only females to rank among the 100 top earners in sports since 2012. The highest-paid female athlete every year since Forbes started tracking the data in 1990 has been a tennis player, with Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis the top earners most of the 1990s. 



Tennis players are walking billboards in the only major global sport where men and women have some level of equality in their paychecks, thanks to similarly sized audiences tuning in to watch tournaments. Prize money at the four grand slam events has been even since 2007, although men still earn more at lower level tourneys.



The demographics of the tennis fan make sponsoring top players attractive for brands. At the U.S. Open last year, attendance skewed in favor of women by a ratio of 56 to 44, a rarity at big time sporting events; 78% held at least a bachelor’s degree versus 35% for the U.S. overall; the average household income was $216,000. This is a group with significant disposable income, ready to buy apparel, sporting equipment, cars, watches and financial services.



Steering Osaka’s brand is tennis powerhouse agency IMG, which leaned on its history with breakout female tennis stars when Osaka started blowing up, having represented Maria Sharapova and Li. Stuart Duguid is her lead agent at IMG.



The apparel deal is almost always the biggest endorsement for tennis stars, and Osaka’s timing was perfect there as well, as she hit the open market just after winning two grand slams. It triggered a free agency bidding war between Nike and Adidas—her previous apparel sponsor. The Swoosh emerged on top and paid her more than $10 million last year in an agreement that runs through 2025.



Osaka secured an extremely rare but lucrative provision in her Nike contract. The sportswear giant always requires its tennis players to be clad in Nike gear from head to toe, without any other logos on their shirts or hats. This is lucrative real estate for marketers, as cameras focus closely on the player as they serve or get set to return serve.



Nike never made an exemption for Serena, Sharapova, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi or any of the other marketable tennis stars in their stable. The only exception until last year was China’s Li Na; Osaka was the second, thanks to massive leverage with Sharapova headed for retirement and Williams turning 39 this year. Her “patch” deals are with All Nippon Airways, MasterCard and ramen noodle maker Nissin Foods.



Nike plans to launch an Osaka streetwear line in Japan in the fourth quarter, featuring hoodies, leggings and shirts, as well as a new collection each season. There will not be any tennis apparel.



Osaka now has 15 endorsement partners, including global brands like Nissan Motor, Shiseido and Yonex, whose tennis racquets she has used for more than a decade; almost all are worth seven-figures annually.&nbsp;



Sharapova was 17 when she defeated Williams to win the 2004 Wimbledon crown. IMG quickly mobilized to lock up lucrative long-term deals for the Russian, who ranked as the highest-paid female athlete for 11 years before injuries and a suspension for taking a banned substance dented her earnings.



IMG got an education on marketing a female Asian tennis star with China’s Li. She was the first grand slam singles champion from Asia, man or woman, when she captured the 2011 French Open at age 29. IMG quickly secured seven multi-million deals, pushing her off-court earnings from $2 million to $20 million. She challenged Sharapova as the sport’s top earner until her retirement in 2014.



IMG used its expertise in Japan with Kei Nishikori, who has never won a grand slam but is the most successful Japanese male player ever, resulting in an endorsement portfolio worth $30 million a year.



Sharapova, Li and Nishikori paved the way for Osaka’s marketing breakthrough. “We were fortunate to have a very sophisticated office in Tokyo that already had the experience with Kei,” IMG’s head of tennis Max Eisenbud told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;last year. “The relationships in that region are important.”



With plenty of endorsement cash, Osaka<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2019/08/23/business-is-booming-for-tennis-ace-naomi-osaka/#b711e54904de"> partnered with several brands</a> last year, with significant equity components, including emerging sports drink BodyArmor and Hyperice, which makes recovery and movement products.



BodyArmor marketing exec Mike Fedele says Osaka was one of inspirations for its “Only You” ad campaign&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/timnewcomb/2020/05/20/naomi-osaka-shares-on-endorsements-bodyarmor-her-struggles-and-cooking/#a06627639a84">launched this week</a>. “Naomi is fiercely dedicated to perfecting her game on the court and a huge part of that is what she does off the court with her training, nutrition and hydration,”he says.



“I’m really interested in seeing a young business grow and adding value to that process,” Osaka told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;last year. “I tasked my team with finding brands that align with my personality and my interests.”



Brands are lining up to get into the Naomi Osaka business.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/">Kurt Badenhausen</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sportsmoney">SportsMoney</a>

Naomi Osaka Is The Highest-Paid Athlete Ever, Topping Serena Williams

Roger Federer,&nbsp;Novak Djokovic&nbsp;and&nbsp;Rafael Nadal&nbsp;are kicking off play at the U.S. Open as the three favorites to win the title and take home a Grand Slam-record $3.85 million payday as the singles champion. The Big Three are a good bet, having captured 53 out of 63 Slams since the start of 2004, including the last 11.



The on-court dominance has produced a combined $373 million in career prize money for the trio, light years ahead of their peers. But the money off the court is even sweeter for Federer, Djokovic and Nadal, to the tune of a cumulative $1.2 billion during their careers from endorsement partners and appearance fees.



Federer is the highest-paid tennis player for the 14th straight year, with $93.4 million from prize money, endorsements and appearance fees in the 12 months ending June 1. It is a record tally by a tennis player.



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His sponsor portfolio is unmatched in sports, with a dozen partners together paying him more than $60 million a year, well ahead of other global sports icons like&nbsp;Tiger Woods,&nbsp;LeBron James&nbsp;and&nbsp;Cristiano Ronaldo. 



Credit Federer’s long run at the top—his Slam titles span 15 years—and the strong demographics of tennis fans, who spend heavily on equipment, apparel, cars, watches and financial services. The global nature of the sport also allows brands to use the players in marketing around the world.



Federer turned 38 this month, and Father Time will catch up at some point, but Japanese apparel brand Uniqlo is&nbsp;betting $300 million&nbsp;that Federer will continue to resonate with fans long after he hangs up his racket. 



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbeswomanafrica.com/wealth/2019/08/26/business-is-booming-for-tennis-ace-naomi-osaka-on-track-to-be-the-highest-paid-female-athlete/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Business Is Booming For Tennis Ace Naomi Osaka, On Track To Be The Highest-Paid Female Athlete (opens in a new tab)">Business Is Booming For Tennis Ace Naomi Osaka, On Track To Be The Highest-Paid Female Athlete</a>



After two decades with Nike, Federer signed a ten-year deal with Uniqlo last year that is guaranteed whether he is playing or not. In the coming months, Federer will also likely take back control of his RF logo, which stayed with Nike after their split.



After a two-year Slam drought, Djokovic has roared back to capture four of the past five majors. The titles helped push his 12-month earnings to $50.6 million, including $30 million off the court from appearances and sponsors Lacoste, Head, Asics, Seiko, NetJets and Ultimate Software. He ranks as the second-highest-paid tennis player.



Rounding out the top five players are&nbsp;Kei Nishikori&nbsp;($37.3 million), Nadal ($35 million) and&nbsp;Serena Williams&nbsp;($29.2 million).



Tennis is the only major sport in which women and men are in the same zip code in terms of earnings. The U.S. Open was the first Slam to offer equal payouts for the men’s and women’s events, and now each of the four Slams has equal pay. While Williams was the only woman to crack&nbsp;Forbes&#8216; 100&nbsp;highest-paid athletes&nbsp;this year, the top ten earners in tennis are split evenly between men and women.



The top ten collectively made $312 million,&nbsp;up 23% from last year, fueled by huge gains by Federer, Djokovic and&nbsp;Naomi Osaka. See the full top ten below.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">10. Sloane Stephens</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1142602393/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Mutua Madrid Open Masters v day 7"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $9.6 million



Prize money: $4.1 million



Endorsements: $5.5 million



The 2017 U.S. Open champion returns to Flushing Meadows this year&nbsp;wearing a tennis shoe&nbsp;based on the “Aqua” colorway of Nike’s retro Air Jordan VIII. Her Nike pact, which began last year, is one of the biggest in the sport. Stephens recently announced her engagement to soccer star Jozy Altidore.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">9. Simona Halep</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1163387350/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="The Championships - Wimbledon 2019"/><figcaption>CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $10.2 million



Prize money: $6.2 million



Endorsements: $4 million



Halep has won only one event in 2019, but it was a big one: Wimbledon, and its $3 million payday, her second career Grand Slam title. The Romanian pro counts Nike, Wilson, Mercedes-Benz and Hublot among her sponsors.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">8. Angelique Kerber</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1158622069/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Nature Valley International - Day Four"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $11.3 million



Prize money: $5.3 million



Endorsements: $6 million



Kerber triggered lucrative bonuses from sponsors, namely Adidas, with her 2018 Wimbledon title and year-end rank of second in the world. In addition to Adidas, the German pro has also renewed deals with SAP, Generali and NetJets since Wimbleon and recently inked a new pact with Procter &amp; Gamble’s Head &amp; Shoulders brand. Other endorsements include Yonex, Porsche, Rolex and Lavazza.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">7. Alexander Zverev</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1160486313/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Rogers Cup Montreal - Day 8"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $11.8 million



Prize money: $6.3 million



Endorsements: $5.5 million



The 22-year-old German is a rising star on the ATP Tour and has 11 career titles, including the 2018 year-end ATP Finals, which was worth $2.5 million in prize money. He has a large deal with Adidas, in addition to endorsements with Head, Peugeot, Richard Mille and Zegna.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">6. Naomi Osaka</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1168056730/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Western &amp; Southern Open - Day 5"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $24.3 million



Prize money: $8.3 million



Endorsements: $16 million



Osaka will see her endorsement number soar even higher, having signed a series of deals since her 2018 U.S. Open win. The biggest is with Nike, which was inked just ahead of our June 1 cutoff and is worth an estimated $10 million annually. She also recently added a series of endorsement partners—Hyperice, BodyArmor and Muzik—where&nbsp;she received equity stakes&nbsp;in the businesses.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. Serena Williams</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1160435948/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Rogers Cup Toronto - Day 6"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $29.2 million



Prize money: $4.2 million



Endorsements: $25 million



The world&#8217;s&nbsp;highest-paid female athlete&nbsp;four years running had a record year off the court after her return to tennis following the birth of daughter Olympia. She added deals with Pampers, Axa Financial and General Mills to her roster.&nbsp;Williams&#8217; next act is&nbsp;tackling venture investing, focused largely on companies led by women or people of color.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. Rafael Nadal</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1161098596/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Rogers Cup Montreal - Day 10"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $35 million



Prize money: $9 million



Endorsements: $26 million



The Spaniard is one of the biggest draws in tennis and can command appearance fees of more than $1 million a pop. His primary sponsors include Nike, Babolat, Kia Motors, Telefónica, Richard Mille and Mapfre.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Kei Nishikori</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1160287842/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="TENNIS: AUG 07 Coupe Rogers"/><figcaption>ICON SPORTSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $37.3 million



Prize money: $4.3 million



Endorsements: $33 million



Nishikori and Zverev are the only non-Slam winners among the ten highest-paid tennis players. But Nishikori&#8217;s robust endorsement portfolio is fueled by his status as the most successful Japanese player ever. He is set to be one of the faces of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. His sponsors Asahi, NTT, Japan Airlines, Lixil, Procter &amp; Gamble and Nissin are all official Olympics partners.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Novak Djokovic</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1168302451/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Western &amp; Southern Open - Day 6"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $50.6 million



Prize money: $20.6 million



Endorsements: $30 million



There have been ten tennis seasons in which a player won more than $12 million in prize money. Djokovic owns seven of those years. His $135 million in career prize money has him $9 million ahead of Federer. Djokovic&#8217;s Lacoste endorsement is one of the richest deals in the sport.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Roger Federer</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/1161645059/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Day Eleven: The Championships - Wimbledon 2019"/><figcaption>GETTY IMAGES</figcaption></figure>



Total earnings: $93.4 million



Prize money: $7.4 million



Endorsements: $86 million



In addition to his blockbuster Uniqlo pact, Federer added a multimillion-dollar deal with Rimowa last year. The luggage brand joined Credit Suisse, Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, Moet &amp; Chandon, Barilla and others in Fed&#8217;s endorsement stable.



-Kurt Badenhausen; Forbes

Tag: Naomi Osaka

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