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Forbes has published its list of world's highest-paid female athletes of 2024. This year, 11 women earned over $10 million (approximately Rs 85 crore) each for the first time. In total, the top 20 women earned over $258 million (over Rs 2,000 lakh crore) in 2024. However, this is less than 12 per cent of the $2.23 billion (over Rs 19,000 lakh crore) made by the top 20 male athletes. The top 20 women earned about $191 million (Rs 1,600 crore) from endorsements this year, while men made $624 million (over Rs 5,000 crore). The bigger gap, however, lies in on-field earnings like salaries and prize money.
Coco Gauff is the highest-earning female athlete of the year, with $34.4 million (approximately Rs 293 crore). She made $9.4 million (approximately Rs 80 crore) from tournaments and $25 million (approximately Rs 213 crore) from endorsements. Her big victories included the China Open and the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Following the 20-year-old tennis star on the list are Iga Świątek (tennis), Eileen Gu (freestyle skiing), Qinwen Zheng (tennis), and Aryna Sabalenka (tennis). The Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid female athletes of 2024 includes an Indian athlete too. Scroll down to find out who it is.
Meet the only Indian named in Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid female athletes of 2024
PV Sindhu ranked 17th on Forbes’ list, earning $7.1 million (approximately Rs 60 crore) in 2024. She made $0.1 million (approximately Rs 85 lakh) on the field and $7 million (approximately Rs 59 crore) from endorsements. Badminton’s low pay scale in India explains her smaller on-field income. But she is one of India's most accomplished athletes, and thus makes a huge amount of money from brand endorsements.
The 29-year-old Indian athlete, who has 4 million followers on Instagram, endorses popular brands like Spinny, Maybelline, Bank of Baroda, Asian Paints, and Bridgestone India. According to MoneyControl, her fees range from Rs 1.2 crore to Rs 2.25 crore for each deal. In 2019, she signed a Rs 50 crore deal with Chinese sports company Li Ning, according to India.com.
A two-time Olympic medalist and three-time gold medalist - one at the World Championships and two at the Commonwealth Games, Sindhu was India’s co-flag bearer at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. In February, she led the Indian women’s team to their first-ever title at the Badminton Asia Team Championships. A few weeks ago, she won the women's singles title at the Syed Modi International. According to Forbes and publicly available data, Sindhu has an estimated net worth of about Rs 60 crore.
PV Sindhu married Venkata Datta Sai, a Hyderabad-based Executive Director at Posidex Technologies, on December 22, 2024.
