Female tennis & golf stars are top earners

July 22, 2008 – If you’re looking for a career that pays big bucks, learn to swing a racquet (or a golf club). For women, the highest-paid athletes come almost exclusively from tennis and golf, where prize money and endorsement dollars flow overwhelmingly to the brightest stars.

According to Forbes, the four highest-paid female athletes in the world are from the tennis circuit: Maria Sharapova (Russia), Serena and Venus Williams (U.S.) and the newly retired Justine Henin (Belgium).

Maria Sharapova leads the list of the highest earning female sports figures with endorsements from such big names such as Pepsi, Nike, Canon and Motorola. Her total earnings are estimated at $26 million per year.

Serena Williams, who was top earner before Sharapova became a teen sensation,  still brings home $14 million a year. 2008 Wimbledon champion Venus Williams is just behind her younger sister with $13 million. Coming in at fourth place on the top earning list is Justine Henin who just recently stopped playing professionally. Forbes estimates Henin’s yearly worth at $12.5 million—$5 million of which she earned by winning titles in 2007.

Golfers Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie and Lorena Ochoa have also broken into eight-figure earnings territory (that’s over $10 million for those who are counting).

Sorenstam has racked up more career prize money than any female golfer in history–some $22 million. The eight-time player of the year has 72 LPGA tournament wins to her credit, including 10 majors. She recently announced she’ll retire from the tour after the ADT Championship in November, just after she turns 38.

Teen sensation Wie has deals with Nike and Sony that contribute to her $12 million paycheck. Ochoa has netted $1.8 million in prize money this year to go along with major endorsement deals with Audi and Lacoste that bring her annual payday to $10 million.

The top 10 list is rounded out by IndyCar driver Danica Patrick and tennis player Ana Ivanovic who earn $7 million and 6.5 million respectively.

What about team-sport athletes? Will women’s team players ever catch up to men? Olympians and WNBA stars like Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi and Lisa Leslie don’t get nearly the same money from corporate sponsors that LeBron or Kobe command.  Who will be the one to break through? You?