Indian shuttler PV Sindhu is her country's sole representative on this year's Forbes World's Highest-Paid Female Athletes list. Sindhu comes in at number 16, jointly with the United States of America Gymnastics star Simone Biles, with her off-filed partnerships carrying the brunt of her 2023 earnings. (Badminton News | Tennis News)
According to Forbes' research, Sindhu earned around seven million USD in off-field partnerships, having secured deals with Centuary Mattress and American Pistachio Growers in the past year. Sindhu is already among India's most marketable athletes, with her sponsors ranging from Asian Paints to Bank of Baroda.
Compared to her off-field marketing prowess, Sindhu earned just 0.1 million USD in on-field prize money, underlining her barren year and Badminton's financial disparity to other, more global sports.
Tennis' number one-ranked female player, Iga Swiatek, closed the year as the World's Highest-Paid Player in 2023. Swiatek raked in 9.9 million USD through her on-field displays, while her off-field partnerships added 14 million USD to her bank. Freestyle skater Eileen Gu, meanwhile, took the second spot, having earned 22 million USD through sponsors over the year - the most of any on the list.
Overall, Tennis edged other sports on Forbes' list of Highest-Paid Female Athletes in 2023, with nine of the top ten professional Tennis players. The sport had 12 representatives in the Top 20, with football and golf coming in second with two each.
Here is the Forbes Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2023 list in full:
1. Iga Swiatek (Tennis)
2. Eileen Gu (Freestyle Skiing)
3. Coco Gauff (Tennis)
4. Emma Raducanu (Tennis)
5. Naomi Osaka (Tennis)
6. Aryna Sabalenka (Tennis)
7. Jessica Pegula (Tennis)
8. Venus Williams (Tennis)
9. Elena Rybakina (Tennis)
10. Leylah Fernandez (Tennis)
=11. Nelly Korda (Golf)
=11. Megan Rapinoe (Football)
13. Candace Parker (Basketball)
14. Alex Morgan (Football)
15. Qinwen Zheng (Tennis)
=16. Simone Biles (Gymnastics)
=16. PV Sindhu (Badminton)
18. Ons Jabeur (Tennis)
19. Brooke Henderson (Golf)
20. Marketa Vondrousova (Tennis)