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QuoteThe 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 final 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 a female athlete in a single year; Maria Sharapova previously held the 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 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's 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 that have swarmed the 38-year-old star.
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Osaka's rise to the head of the charts was a perfect 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 the 2019 Australian Open. That plus her heritage—a Japanese mother and a Haitian-American father—helped separate her from the pack; at only 20 when she won her Open title, she had a cool factor and an engaging personality.
Osaka's roots are crucial to her endorsement stardom. She was born in Japan. When she was 3, she and her family moved to the U.S., settling on Long Island and then heading to Florida; her 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 the first Asian tennis player ever to be ranked No. 1 in the world.
Osaka held dual citizenship growing up but made the wise choice to represent Japan ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, now postponed to 2021. The decision made her an even hotter commodity for Olympic sponsors, like Procter & Gamble, All Nippon Airways and Nissin, which signed endorsement deals with Osaka to use her around marketing for the Games. She is expected to be one of the faces of the Olympics, which had triggered unprecedented levels of excitement among the Japanese public before the coronavirus outbreak.
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 alongside the top-paid male sports stars. Sharapova, Li Na, Serena Williams and now Osaka are the only women 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 for most of the 1990s.
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.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2020/05/22/naomi-osaka-is-the-highest-paid-female-athlete-ever-topping-serena-williams/#7a6df5b41fd3
You guys.... she's only 22 years old
:thatssowendy: :thatssowendy: :plzstop: :uhh:
Congrats to her but I just know Serena is pissed sddffds. Not this chink bitch coming outta no where and snatching the crown :dead:
Lets be real, only fags and stans care about that shit.
Serena could is insanely wealthy and married to wealth too. She's not worried that this lil girl.
QuoteOsaka earned $37.4 million the last 12 months from prize money and endorsements, $1.4 million more than Serena,
The sensationalism :dead:
And is it just me or is Forbes shady as fuck for this pic?
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I'm sorry but this "topping Serena Williams" at the end has me screaming KDJSJDJSJSJ :plzstop: especially considering it was Sharapova who held this record prior to Naomi, and not Serena
I just KNOW this white gorls are happy as FUCK there's a new bitch in town and that Serena's black self is kinda over
Quote from: Gilgamesh. on May 27, 2020, 06:35:03 AM
Lets be real, only fags and stans care about that shit.
Serena could is insanely wealthy and married to wealth too. She's not worried that this lil girl.
!!!!
Serena is Serena :dead: if anything, I'm sure she's happy for her. And Naomi hasn't snatched anyone's
crown but this is definitely an incredible accomplishment
She also played WAY more tournaments than Serena, so of course she'll earn more. In 2019, Osaka played 19 tournaments. Serena played 9.
She's gorgeous
Serena has earned closed to 500 mill in her career. This girl is at less than 50 mill.
Serene has 23 single Grand slams. This girl has 2.
Serena has 4 Olympic gold medals. This girl has 0.
Serena has 18 doubles Grand slams. Naomi has 0.
Serena has won 100 titles in total. Naomi has 5 titles.
Serena is the greatest of all time and this young girl is just getting started. There is no comparison.
Forbes is baiting a bit but this is really amazing!
You faggots and these misleading titles.
So this is highest paid ever in a single year. Not overall.
congrats kwee, hope she extends the record even further.
Ps I can't wait for the plate sharing faggot to die off.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B55P9B0nake/
That Japanese endorsement money is no joke :plzstop: mainly the reason she decided to represent and play for Japan instead of the United States. More $$$$$$$$$$$.
Quote from: chula. on May 27, 2020, 08:20:43 AM
That Japanese endorsement money is no joke :plzstop: mainly the reason she decided to represent and play for Japan instead of the United States. More $$$$$$$$$$$.
This is true. In terms of endorsements, Nishikori MINTS money.
Quote from: Baby Mama Shuji 🔥👶 on May 27, 2020, 09:02:50 AM
Quote from: chula. on May 27, 2020, 08:20:43 AM
That Japanese endorsement money is no joke :plzstop: mainly the reason she decided to represent and play for Japan instead of the United States. More $$$$$$$$$$$.
This is true. In terms of endorsements, Nishikori MINTS money.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kei has zero major titles......doesn't have to do much and still pulls in tons of endorsement money. Naomi made the right choice :howfestive:
Quote from: chula. on May 27, 2020, 08:20:43 AM
That Japanese endorsement money is no joke :plzstop: mainly the reason she decided to represent and play for Japan instead of the United States. More $$$$$$$$$$$.
jdjdjncncncn now see
Brilliant though
I think she is the most famous and successful athlete Japan has ever had so they better PAY her.