Where Caitlin Clark, Coco Gauff and More Rank on Top-Paid Female Athletes in 2025 List

Coco Gauff narrowly eclipsed on-court rival Aryna Sabalenka to claim the title of highest-paid women's athlete in 2025.

Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen estimated that Gauff earned $31 overall, $1 million more than Sabalenka. Women's tennis dominated the list, occupying 10 of the first 15 slots.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu ($23 million), Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark ($16 million) and two-time major champion Nelly Korda ($13.8 million) were the only non-tennis stars in the top 10.

Sabalenka had a stronger season than Gauff. She made the finals of the Australian Open and French Open, the latter where she lost to Gauff, and successfully defended her U.S. Open title. The 27-year-old was also the runner-up in the WTA Finals, where she lost to Elena Rybakina.

Sabalenka went 63-12 overall and collected $15 million in prize money. Gauff finished 48-16 with slightly under $8 million in WTA earnings.

The latter was the decisive winner in off-court earnings, though. Badenhausen noted Sabalenka collected some performance-based incentives as part of her Nike deal, but Gauff still made $8 million more.

Gu and Clark are outliers in that endorsements accounted for almost all of their money.

Gu suffered an injury in August while training and missed a lot of FIS events. As a result, she had just $20,000 in prize money. Clark, meanwhile, had her $78,066 salary set by the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement. Her deal maxes out at $97,582, which will still be a fraction of her actual value on and off the court.

In the case of the WNBA star, a new CBA promises to bring sizable raises to players across the league once the broad terms are agreed.