10 highest-earning female tennis players of 2021
The curtains came down on the 2021 tennis season with Garbine Muguruza's win at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Over the months, the audience has been treated to some dazzling performances from a number of fantastic tennis players.
Naturally, the further a player advances in tournaments, the more they get paid, and there were a lot of players who enjoyed big paydays during the tour.
Here's a look at the 10 highest-earning female tennis players of 2021 and how they fared this season:
#10 Maria Sakkari
Earnings - $2,029,990
Ranking - 6
This year was undoubtedly the best of the Greek's career. Although Sakkari did not win a title, she made some deep runs at a number of big tournaments.
At the French Open, the 26-year-old made history by becoming the first Greek woman to reach the quarterfinals and then the semifinals of a Grand Slam. Sakkari also reached the semifinals at the US Open.
Apart from her exploits at Grand Slams, the 26-year-old also reached the semifinals of the Miami Masters and three WTA 500 tournaments.
The World No. 6 also reached the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara before losing to Anett Kontaveit.
#9 Elise Mertens
Earnings - $2,098,133
Ranking - 4 (Doubles)
The Belgian player had some good individual performances this year but she found most success on the doubles circuit, becoming the World No.1 in May.
Mertens won the Australian Open partnering sabalenka" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Aryna Sabalenka, defeating Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.
After teaming up with Hsieh Su-wei, the 26-year-old won the Wimbledon and the Indian Wells Masters.
Mertens and Hsieh also reached the final of the WTA Finals but they were defeated by Krejcikova and Siniakova.
In singles, Mertens reached her maiden WTA 1000 semifinal at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Her only individual title this year was the Gippsman Trophy.
All-in-all, 2021 was quite a successful year for Mertens, who won a total of five trophies.
#8 Naomi Osaka
Earnings - $2,306,222
Ranking - 13
Osaka started the year brilliantly by winning the Australian Open with her victory over Jennifer Brady. This was her fourth Grand Slam title.
After this, Osaka reached the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters, where she was defeated by Sakkari.
Osaka pulled out of the French Open, citing mental health concerns, and was credited for raising awareness regarding the same.
Following early exits at the Olympics, Cincinnati Masters and the US Open, Osaka took a hiatus from tennis, citing mental health issues. This led to her ranking falling to 13.
With the exception of the Australian Open, 2021 was pretty much a forgettable year for Osaka and many fans will be hoping that the Japanese returns to tennis as soon as possible.
#7 Paula Badosa
Earnings- $2,602,330
Ranking - 8
The Spaniard was among the players who improved the most this year with her ranking going from 70 to eight over the months.
Badosa's crowning achievement this year was undoubtedly her triumph at Indian Wells. She also reached the semifinals of the Madrid Masters and the quarterfinals of the French Open.
Badosa entered the WTA Finals as the seventh seed and made it to the semifinals where she lost to compatriot and eventual champion Muguruza.
#6 Emma Raducanu
Earnings - $2,807,446
Ranking - 19
The British No.1 had a break-through season in 2021. Raducanu started the year ranked 343 in the world.
The teenager entered Wimbledon as a wildcard but made it to the fourth round where she was forced to retire against Ajla Tomljanovic.
Prior to the US Open qualifiers, Raducanu was ranked 150 and managed to make it to the main draw, but little did people know how well she would fare. The Brit defeated four unseeded opponents to reach the quarterfinals.
Raducanu beat Bencic and Sakkari to seal her place in an all-teenage final against Leylah Fernandez. She beat the Canadian to become the very first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title. What's more special is the fact that the 19-year-old did not drop a single set. She rose to 23 in the rankings.
Raducanu will end the year ranked 19 and we could see a lot more of her in 2022.
#5 Garbine Muguruza
Earnings - $2,846,871
Ranking - 3
After a resurgent 2020, the Spaniard produced some impressive performances in 2021.
Muguruza won the Dubai Tennis Championships by defeating Krejcikova in the final. However, in the five or six months that followed, the 28-year-old had no notable performances.
The Spaniard did not have a good run at the Majors, with her best outings being fourth round exits at the Australian Open and the US Open.
Muguruza competed at the WTA Finals as the sixth seed. She made it to the final of the tournament and defeated Kontaveit in straight sets to become the first Spaniard to win the competition since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1993.
#4 Karolina Pliskova
Earnings - $2,868,865
Ranking - 4
The Czech did not win any titles this year but had some pretty good moments. Pliskova reached three singles finals in 2021 with the most notable of those coming at Wimbledon.
The 29-year-old was up against World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and put up quite a fight. However, the Australian defeated her in three sets.
In the WTA Finals, Pliskova won two out of her three group matches but that was not enough to take her to the semifinals.
#3 Aryna Sabalenka
Earnings - $2,909,281
Ranking - 2
The 23-year-old from Belarus had a very good year and played some dazzling tennis in both singles and doubles.
At the Australian Open, Sabalenka exited the singles draw in the fourth round but won the doubles title with Mertens.
She reached her first singles final in Stuttgart, losing to Ashleigh Barty despite winning the first set. Sabalenka avenged that loss by beating the Australian in the final of the Madrid Masters.
The 23-year-old reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon but lost to Pliskova. The Belarussian reached another two semifinals at the Canadian Open and the US Open.
Sabalenka competed in the WTA Finals but was unable to reach the semifinals after winning just one of her three group matches.
The Belarussian has had a really good year and there is a very good chance of her doing even better in 2022.
#2 Barbora Krejcikova
Earnings - $3,646,883
Ranking - 5
The 25-year-old was among the most-improved singles players this year. Krejcikova began 2021 well, winning the Mixed Doubles tournament at the Australian Open, partnering Rajeev Ram. She was also the runner-up at the Women's Doubles competition in which she teamed up with Siniakova.
A month later, she reached the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships, where Garbine Muguruza defeated her. The Czech and Siniakova won the Madrid Open, defeating the pair of Gabriela Dabrowski and Demi Schuurs.
Krejcikova had a dream French Open as she won the singles and doubles titles. She thus became the first Czech woman to win the singles title at Roland Garros since Hana Mandlikova in 1981.
Krejcikova partnered with Siniakova for the Tokyo Olympics and the duo won the gold in the Women's Doubles competition.
She entered the year-end tournament in Guadalajara as the second seed but lost all of her group matches. In doubles however, Krejcikova and Siniakova came through to win the title.
2021 was a great year for Krejcikova as she won a total of seven titles and an Olympic gold.
#1 Ashleigh Barty
Earnings - $3,945,182
Ranking - 1
It comes as no surprise that the World No. 1 holds the top spot. Barty had an incredible year during which she retained her No.1 ranking despite skipping all the tournaments following the US Open.
Barty won her first WTA 1000 title of the year at the Miami Open by defeating Bianca Andreescu in the final.
After a disappointing French Open, the 25-year-old became the first Australian to win the Women's Singles title at Wimbledon since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980.
Barty had a pretty mixed Olympics as she won the bronze in the Mixed Doubles event, partnering John Peers, but suffered a first-round elimination in the singles event.
The Australian won her sixth title of the year at the Cincinnati Open, defeating Muguruza. This was followed by a third-round exit at the US Open.