Jessica Pegula earned over £7million in 2023, but that is nowhere near several of her rivals despite her status as the ‘world’s richest tennis player.’ The American ends the year as only the eighth highest-paid women athlete, behind half a dozen other tennis players.
Pegula, 29, has multi-billionaire parents, Kim and Terry Pegula, who own the NFL franchise Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Her father made his money in oil and gas and has an estimated net worth of £5.44 billion, a fortune she stands to inherit alongside four siblings: Kelly, Matthew, Michael, and Laura.
However, in the meantime, she is successful in her own right, having earned almost £10m in prize money over her career. Pegula is the 48th highest-paid women’s tennis player of all time and only seems set to climb that list in the coming years.
Some £2.4m of that total comes from this year alone after winning the Canadian and Korea Open during the WTA Tour. Only three players earned more than her on the court, and that trio finds themselves above Pegula in the latest highest-paid rankings.
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One place above her in seventh is 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. They both won the same number of tournaments, but the Russian-born player earns more from her endorsement deals, including one with Red Bull.
In sixth is Aryna Sabalenka, whose consistency across all four Grand Slams earned her over £6.5million in prize money. Combined with her Nike sponsorship, the former world number one finished clear of Pegula in 2023.
As did Naomi Osaka, despite not playing all season after giving birth to her first child this summer. However, her lucrative endorsement deals with Beats, Levi’s, Louis Vuitton, Mastercard and Nike netted her almost £12million.
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Emma Raducanu earned even more than that off the court, with her total approaching £13million from sponsors British Airways, Christian Dior, Evian, HSBC, Porsche and Vodafone. That earned her fourth spot despite playing just nine matches all year due to injury.
But the American-born Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu blows everyone else out of the picture with her huge £16million sum from endorsements. As the face of several campaigns in China, those earnings balloon the relatively paltry figures she receives for succeeding in her sport.
Above her, it is a tennis one-two, but world number one Iga Swiatek only takes second despite topping the WTA rankings and recently triumphing at the WTA Finals. Even her £9.6million from endorsements does not earn her top spot.
That, instead, goes to US Open winner Coco Gauff. That is largely down to her success in the season’s last Grand Slam, which triggered lucrative bonuses from several sponsors.
Her success alongside doubles partner Pegula also helped. However, the over £11 million difference between their yearly earnings almost entirely comes from their wildly varying off-the-court endeavours.
Gauff is the face of New Balance and even has a signature shoe line. Bose, Head, Rolex and UPS also partner with the American teenage sensation.
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