Tennis stars dominated the list of the world\u2019s 10 best-paid female athletes, Forbes magazine said on Tuesday, but highlighted the yawning earnings gap with their male counterparts in most sports.
\nRussia\u2019s Maria Sharapova headed the list, published on forbes.com, earning a total of $29 million (\u00a318.9 million, 21.9 million euros) between June 2012 and June this year.
\nTennis took the top four positions, with world number one Serena Williams of the United States second ($20.5 million), China\u2019s Li Na third ($18.2 million) and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus fourth ($15.7 million).
\nCaroline Wozniacki of Denmark was in seventh ($13.6 million), followed by Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland ($7.4 million) and Serbia\u2019s Ana Ivanovic ($7 million).
\nUS Nascar driver Danica Patrick (fifth with $15 million), South Korean figure skater Kim Yuna (sixth with $14 million)and American golfer Paula Creamer (10th with $5.5 million), were the only non-tennis stars in the top 10.
\nBut the business magazine said disparities remained between men and women in terms of earnings in sport.
\nWorld number one golfer Tiger Woods, for example, was the highest-paid athlete on the planet with earnings of $78 million in the 12 months between June 1, 2012 and June 1 this year.
\nLos Angeles Laker basketball star Kobe Bryant will earn $30.5 million next season but the highest salary in the women\u2019s equivalent of the NBA is $107,000.
\nPark Inbee of South Korea won $585,000 for winning the women\u2019s US Open but men\u2019s winner Justin Rose was awarded $1.4 million, the magazine noted.
\nForbes said that there was increasing parity in terms of pay in tennis, after moves in recent years to put prize money on a more equal footing.
\nEndorsements that come on the back of Grand Slam wins such as Sharapova\u2019s 2012 French Open title dwarf most players\u2019 winnings.
\nThe 26-year-old, for example, earned $23 million in endorsements with sportswear manufacturers Head and Nike after her victory at Roland Garros.
\nShe has also launched her own brand of sweets, Sugarpova.
\nNevertheless, in Forbes\u2019 June 24 list of the world\u2019s 100 highest-paid athletes, multiple tennis Grand Slam winner Roger Federer of Switzerland earned $71.5 million, second only to Woods.
\nSharapova, number 22 in the top 100 list, earned more than the current men\u2019s number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia ($26.9 million) and Spain\u2019s Rafael Nadal ($26.4 million).
\nBut in a sign of the ground to be made up, Williams\u2019 earnings were only enough to place her 68th in the top 100, while Li Na was 85th\u2014and all three were the only women in the list.
\nForbes list of the world\u2019s highest-paid female athletes 2013:
\n1 Maria Sharapova (RUS), tennis, $29 million
\n2 Serena Williams (USA), tennis, $20.5 million
\n3 Li Na (CHN), tennis, $18.2 million
\n4 Victoria Azarenka (BLR), tennis, $15.7 million
\n5 Danica Patrick (USA), Nascar, $15 million
\n6 Kim Yuna (KOR), figure skating, $14 million
\n7 Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), tennis, $13.6 million
\n8 Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), tennis, $7.4 million
\n9 Ana Ivanovic (SRB), tennis, $7 million
\n10 Paula Creamer (USA), golf, $5.5 million.<\/p>\n

-With AFP<\/span>\/New Age<\/span> input<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tennis stars dominated the list of the world\u2019s 10 best-paid female athletes, Forbes magazine said on Tuesday, but highlighted the yawning earnings gap with their male counterparts in most sports. Russia\u2019s Maria Sharapova headed the list, published on forbes.com, earning a total of $29 million (\u00a318.9 million, 21.9 million euros) between June 2012 and June … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n