Ash Barty eighth, Naomi Osaka tops on Forbes highest-paid female athletes

Australian Open favourite Ash Barty made a pretty penny in 2021, but the World No. 1 is nowhere near the top of the sport’s rich list.

Ash Barty preparing for the Aussie Open. Pic: Michael Klein

Aussie World No. 1 Ash Barty has dropped from third to eighth on Forbes’ list of the highest paid female athletes in the world, which has been released on the eve of the Australian Open.

Revealed earlier this week, tennis players once again dominated as four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka once again topped the highest paid women’s athletes list, having raked in $US57.3 million ($A79.5m) in 2021, including $US2.3m ($A3.2m) on court and $US55m ($A76.3m) off-court.

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She was followed by Serena Williams ($US45.9m — $A63.7m) and Venus Williams ($US11.3m — $A15.7m).

Osaka (12th) and Serena (28th) were the only two women in the top fifty highest paid athletes on last years’ athlete rich list, while Venus missed the top 50 by more than $20m.

While tennis stars have traditionally dominated the list, No. 4 was gymnast Simone Biles who earned $US10.1m ($A14m), $US10m ($A13.9m) of which was endorsements, golf stars Jin Young Ko (6th) and Nelly Korda (9th), India badminton wstar P.V. Sindhu (7th) and basketballer Candace Parker (10th) also made the list, largely via endorsements.

However, World No. 3 Garbine Muguruza (5th) beat out Aussie World No. 1 Ash Barty, making her the fifth highest paid tennis star despite another year on top of the women’s tennis rankings.

Ash Barty Photo by Han Yan/Xinhua via Getty Images

Part of the reason for this difference appears to be that Barty pulled out of the remainder of the season after the US Open in September, including the $US14 million ($A19m) WTA Finals, where she won a $5 million ($6.4m) winner’s cheque at the end of the 2019 campaign.

Muguruza won the WTA Finals in 2021 but there was a $US5m pool rather than prize, as the Spaniard pocketed $A2.2m, and earned twice as much in endorsements as the Aussie.

In 2019, Barty wasn’t in the top 15 of the highest paid female athletes on the Forbes list but while she is the eighth richest female athlete of 2021, she ranks as the fifth tennis player.

In 2020, Barty was third on the list, having earned a reported $US13.1 million ($A18.2m).

However, in 2021, despite having won five titles including the Wimbledon crown, Barty earned $US6.9m ($A9.6m), $US3.9m ($A5.4m) worth on-court and $US3m ($A4.2m) in endorsements.

Forbes made special note on Barty’s post on how far women’s sport still has to come, writing: “The 25-year-old, who recently signed a sponsorship deal with Marriott Bonvoy, served up a reminder of the pay disparities that still exist in some areas of the sport when she won the Western & Southern Open outside Cincinnati in August. She took home $255,220 for the victory, whereas the men’s champion at the same tournament, Alexander Zverev, collected $654,815.”

Ash Barty is in a good frame of mind. Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images

But Barty could be set for another big payday as the men’s and women’s players are paid the same at the grand slams and the World No. 1 is the favourite to break a 44-year wait for Aussies to win a hope women’s singles title, dating back to Chris O’Neil in 1978.

The winner of the 2022 Australian Open will earn a cool $A2.875m, while the runner up will still take home $A1.575m.

Barty does have a brutal draw, including a potential fourth round clash against Naomi Osaka, who has won two of the last three titles at Melbourne Park.

Speaking to the Saturday Herald Sun, Osaka paid tribute to Barty.

“For me, what I like most about Ash, is that you can tell she is a hard worker,’’ she said.

“And her results, of course, show that.

“I really respect how she doesn’t complain and she plays every point … you can tell that she really loves the game.’’

Naomi Osaka has heaped praise on Ash Barty. Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images

She wasn’t the only champion either piling the expectation on Barty.

2020 winner Sofia Kenin, who Barty demolished in straight sets in Adelaide last week, said the Aussie just kept improving.

“She’s playing better and better each match, against me she served really well,” Kenin said.

“I was really shocked by it. I can see she’s definitely improved and has a lot of confidence.

“She’s got a great team around her, and they’re doing everything right.”

On the rich list, it was the richest list ever for women as the top 10 earned a combined $US167m, a 23 per cent jump from last year and beating the previous record of $US143.3m in 2013.

The list reflects the earnings of the entire calendar year of