The 10 active WTA players to break $20m prize money barrier as Coco Gauff joins list: Iga Swiatek at No 5
Venus Williams remains at No 1 in terms of the career prize money leaders for active players, but several young stars have moved up the list this year.
The likes of Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have both passed the $30m prize money mark this year while Coco Gauff has entered the top 10 following her historic title run at the 2024 WTA Finals.
Tennis great Williams still has a bit of a cushion at the top despite her inactivity the past few years. The former world No 1 has played 16 top-level matches in the last three seasons, but she is not ready to call it a day just yet.
“I’m not done with the racket yet,” Williams told the Irish News recently. “At this point, it’s about picking and choosing places I want to be.”
A few wins during the 2025 WTA Tour season could see her increase her lead, but the current generation will no doubt make up some ground in the coming year.
For the record, Serena Williams remains at No 1 for all-time prize money with $94,816,730 while sister Venus is at No 2. Seven active players feature in the top 15.
The 10 active WTA players to break $20m prize-money barrier:
10. Coco Gauff – $21,581,989
Aged just 20, Coco Gauff has already earned more than $20m during her career as she broke through that milestone with her WTA Finals trophy.
Gauff earned the biggest cheque in women’s tennis as she collected $4.805m for her title run at the season-ending tournament in Riyadh.
That took her past the $20m milestone as she surged past Sloane Stephens ($18,864,835), Madison Keys ($18,847,768) and Caroline Garcia (Caroline Garcia) are just outside the top 10.
9. Naomi Osaka – $22,047,163
Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka hasn’t earned much in the past two years for her on-court displays, but she is still raking it in with off-court sponsorships.
She didn’t earn any prize money last year as she was on maternity leave and collected “just” $869,911 during her comeback season.
That is well short of the $6,394,289 she earned in 2018 and the $6,788,282 she added to her bank balance the year after.
WTA Facts & Stats
WTA Rankings: The 8 active women to be world No 1 – ft. Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka
8. Elina Svitolina – $24,309,612
Former world No 3 Elina Svitolina has enjoyed a resurgence since she returned to the WTA Tour following the birth of her first child, a daughter named Skai, in October 2022.
The Ukrainian won $1,464,149 this year to go with the $1,457,493 from last year as she moved past Osaka on the list, but her best year was in 2019 when she made $6,126,335.
7. Karolina Pliskova – $26,111,050
Two-time Grand Slam runner-up Karolina Pliskova is 11th on the all-time list, but it is highly unlikely that she will move further up as she is in the final few years of her career.
The former world No 1 won four titles during the 2019 season and earned $5,138,077 that year.
6. Aryna Sabalenka – $30,106,823
Reigning world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka will most likely finish in the top three – maybe even at No 1 – by the time she retires.
Sabalenka earned more than $4m during a season for the first time last year when she made $8,202,653 and this year she cracked the $9m mark as she collected $9,729,260 on the back of her Australian Open and US Open titles.
5. Iga Swiatek – $33,141,991
Five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek first broke the $9m mark in 2022 when she earned $9,875,525 (the fifth-best individual season in terms of prize money) and the following year she collected $9,857,686 after winning the French Open and WTA Finals.
This year the Pole went home with $8,550,693.
4. Caroline Wozniacki – $36,095,873
Caroline Wozniacki retired in January 2020 before making a return to the WTA Tour in 2023.
The former world No 1 enjoyed her best season in 2018 – the year she won her one and only Grand Slam at the Australian Open – as she earned $6,657,719 over the 52-week period.
Before that, she enjoyed three $4m-plus seasons.
3. Victoria Azarenka – $38,063,787
Two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka broke the $7m mark once and that came in 2012 when she won the first of her two titles at Melbourne Park and the following year she collected $6,497,165.
She has averaged between $1m and $2m for the past two seasons with this year’s total coming in at $1,412,830.
2. Simona Halep – $40,229,773
Former world No 1 Simona Halep hasn’t played much the past two years due to her doping ban and injury with her last full season in 2022 when she made $2,253,197.
That is well below the $7,409,564 she collected in prize money in 2018 when she won the French Open and finished runner-up at the Australian Open. She followed it up with $6,962,442 the following year.
1. Venus Williams – $42,648,578
Venus and Serena Williams led the way for women’s tennis on several fronts over the years. Serena finished her career at the top while sister Venus is still going strong.
Venus twice finished a season with two Grand Slams in a year as in 2000 she won Wimbledon and the US Open and the following year she successfully defended her titles.
But in 2000 she made “only” $2,074,150 while in 2001 her tally increased to $2,662,610, which is pale in comparison to what today’s players earn.
Instead, her best earnings year was in 2017 when she won $5,468,741 after finishing runner-up at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and WTA Finals.
