Top 5 prize money earners of 2024 WTA season ft. Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff
Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Iga Swiatek dominated the tour with their consistent results for most of the season. Zheng Qinwen solidified her status as the next big thing with her performances, while Jasmine Paolini proved that late bloomers can still make an impact.
Barbora Krejcikova returned to form with a title at Wimbledon as well. Tennis is one of the most lucrative sports in the world, so it is no surprise to see players from the sport frequently feature in the world's highest-paid athletes lists. The biggest tournaments offer a considerable chunk of money, and with this being an individual sport, players do get to keep a lot of it.
However, prize money earned is also heavily dependent on a player's results. Most of the aforementioned names were among the top performers of this season. As such, they've made the cut for this list, and here's a look at the five highest-earning players of the 2024 WTA season:
#5 - Zheng Qinwen ($5.4 million)
Zheng announced her arrival in the top leagues with a runner-up finish at the Australian Open, her first final at a Major. She claimed the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, and won titles in Palermo and Tokyo, and was the runner-up at the Wuhan Open and the WTA Finals.
Zheng's runner-up finish at the WTA Finals boosted her earnings significantly this year, and she made $2.2 million for her efforts there. Her run Down Under fetched her $1.3 million as well, while her showing in Wuhan won her $309,280. These three tournaments made up the bulk of her $5.4 million prize money this year.
#4 - Jasmine Paolini ($5.6 million)
Paolini won the biggest title of her career at the WTA 1000 in Dubai, which fetched her a tidy sum of $454,500. However, her runner-up finishes at the French Open and Wimbledon improved her earnings by a fair margin, and she made a total of $2.7 million at those two Majors.
While Paolini didn't make it out of the group stage of the WTA Finals, a single win at the tournament fetched her $350,000. She also had a great season in doubles, winning the gold medal at the Olympics, reaching the final of the French Open, and winning two WTA 1000 titles. Her results in doubles added another $750,000 to her tally. The Italian made more money this season than she had in her entire career before this year.
#3 - Iga Swiatek ($8.5 million)
Swiatek's fourth title at the French Open this season made her richer by $2.4 million. She also won four titles at the WTA 1000 level, which collectively added $3.2 million to her yearly total. A quarterfinal finish at the US Open upped her earnings by $530,000.
Swiatek's last big paycheck came from the recently concluded WTA Finals. While her title defense concluded in the group stage, she still received $1 million in prize money between her wins and participation fees. However, having made around $9.8 million per year in the last two seasons, her earnings have taken a slight hit this year.
#2 - Coco Gauff ($9.3 million)
Gauff laughed all the way to the bank this year as this was her career-best season in terms of prize money. She made an impressive $9.3 million this year, with her triumph at the WTA Finals accounting for over half of the prize money, with a whopping $4.8 million.
Gauff's victory at the China Open was also a decent money maker and fetched her $1.1 million. A semifinal finish at the Indian Wells Open added $325,000 to her tally, as did a fourth-round showing at the US Open. She won the doubles title at the French Open as well, and combined with her other doubles results, she made $472,000 from the discipline.
#1 - Aryna Sabalenka ($9.7 million)
With a career-best season, it is no surprise that Sabalenka leads the field with respect to prize money won this year. Defending her Australian Open title gave her $2.2 million, and winning the US Open was a $3.6 million payday for her. Titles at the Cincinnati Open and the Wuhan Open earned her a little over $1 million.
While Sabalenka's time at the WTA Finals was limited to the semifinals, she walked away $1 million richer nonetheless. Having made $8.2 million last year, she has upped her previous year's total by a considerable margin. She could easily breach the $10 million mark next year if she maintains her form, which only three players have done in the past, Serena Williams (2013, 2015), Angelique Kerber (2016), and Ashleigh Barty (2019).