Top 10 highest paid female athletes in the world

In today's world we see a lot of highest paid female athletes earning more than what famous men athletes do.With the significant prize-money associated with various sports these days, athletes all over the world arerewarded extremely well. Couple that with the ever-risingsponsorship deals that athletes sign along with their other sources of income like modelling and marketing, and it becomes clear that the earnings of athleteshave really expanded in recent times. And that's not restricted to male athletes alone - even the female athletes are making seriously big money these days.Here'sa look at the top 10 highest paid female athletes in the world, according to the Forbes' list.

#10 Paula Creamer

This 27-year-old golfer from USA enters the list at No. 10, with total earnings of $5.5 million last year. She has earned the nickname 'Pink Panther' because of her fondness for wearing pink.

Creamer has won 12 tournaments as a professional, and was once ranked No. 2 in the world. She was the winner of the 2010 US Open.

Her endorsement portfolio, which includes deals with TaylorMade-adidas, Citizen Watch, CDW, Ricoh and Bridgestone, is the most lucrative among female golfers today.

#9 Ana Ivanovic

Serbian beauty Ana Ivanovic features in the list at 9th position with total earnings of $7 million. Currently ranked 13th in the WTA rankings, the former World No. 1 had slipped to rank as low as 64 in 2010.

A few tournament victories over the last two years have aided her in the road to regaining lost glory. She made a big splash earlier this year by ousting Serena Williams from the Australian Open.

The 26-year-old’s shoe and apparel deal with sports manufacturing giants Adidas, is one of the biggest in women’s tennis.

#8 Agnieszka Radwanska

Currently ranked at number three in the WTA women’s rankings, Agneiszka Radwanska is at number 8 on the list with total earnings worth $7.4 million. At the 2012 Wimbledon, she became the first Polish player to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open Era.

In the past 12 months, she has earned a total of around $4.9 million in prize money itself, while her major sponsors include Babolat, Lexus and Lotto.

Even her sister Urszula, a tennis pro, is currently ranked at No. 53 in the WTA rankings.

#7 Caroline Wozniacki

With total earnings worth $13.7 million, the 23-year-old Caroline Wozniacki features in the list at number 7. The Danish tennis player has reached the pinnacle of the WTA rankings in the past, finishing two successive years at the No. 1 spot despite never winning a Major tournament.

At that time, Wozniacki was considered the next big thing in women’s tennis, but has failed to live up to expectations in recent times, as she has slipped from the top 10 WTA rankings and is currently at 12th position. But her on-field bad patch has had not much effect on her off-field earnings, which come from big sponsorship deals with Adida, Yonex, Proactiv, Rolex and Sony Ericsson.

#6 Kim Yuna

South Korean skating sensation Kim Yuna finds herself at the 6th position on this list, with total earnings of $14 million. The 2010 Olympic champion, who sat out the 2011-12 skating season, returned for the Sochi Winter Olympics where she bagged the silver medal.

Kim has been an influential factor in attracting the 2018 Winter Olympics to Pyeongchang, South Korea. She is also a headliner in the All That Skate figure-skating show.

#5 Danica Patrick

31-year-old Danica Patrick, an American racing driver and model, features at number 5 in this list with total earnings of $15 million. Her income has been boosted as she started last year as a full-time racer at the Nascar for the first time.

In 2011, she was Yahoo’s most searched for athlete in both male and female categories. She took the world by storm when she won the Indy Japan 300, which is the only victory by a woman in the IndyCar series. She has also inked huge endorsement deals with Coke Zero and Sega recently.

#4 Victoria Azarenka

24-year-old Belarusian beauty Victoria Azarenka makes it to the list at fourth place with total earnings of $15.7 million. Azarenka's current WTA ranking is the same as her position in this list - No. 4.

In the past 12 months she has earned $6.7 million through prize money alone. The Belarusian signed a new deal with Nike last year, which has seen a huge increase in her earnings. She also became the first tennis player sponsor of beverage giant Red Bull last year.

#3 Li Na

Chinese tennis sensation Li Na comes in at the third spot with total earnings worth $18.2 million. Li is currently placed at the No. 2 position in the WTA rankings.

She became the first Asian-born tennis player to become a singles Grand Slam champion when she won the French Open in 2011, the same year she made two Grand Slam finals. She recently added the Australian Open to her Slam collection.

The 32-year-old has signed a multitude of multi-million dollar deals with big names like Mercedes-Benz, Samsung Electronics and several Chinese firms, which significantly boosts her income.

#2 Serena Williams

Serena Williams features in the list at number 2 with total earnings worth $20.5 million. The American tennis star is without doubt the most dominant player currently in the circuit when she is fit.

The younger of the Williams siblings won the US Open for the 5th time this past year, taking her tally of Grand Slams to 17. She is currently at the top of the WTA rankings, and has been a part of the Nike family since 2003.

Serena has won a total of $54 million in her career in prize money alone, taking her to the top of the list among women, while being fourth overall among all tennis players.

#1 Maria Sharapova

Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova tops the list of highest earning female athletes with total earnings worth a staggering $29 million, which is almost one and a half times of what second-placed Serena Williams pockets.

Sharapova won the French Open in 2012, which helped her complete the career Grand Slam, making her only the 6th woman in history to accomplish the feat.

Currently Sharapova is 5th in the WTA rankings, but her rankings and on-court results seemingly have no effect on her commercial deals. Her deal with Nike is the biggest in women’s tennis, while her income is also boosted by the sales from Maria Sharapova collection, which has doubled its sales since 2011. The Maria Sharapova collection includes shoes and accessories for Nike subsidiary Cole Haan. Her brand of candy called 'Sugarpova' is also adds a significant amount of money to her personal wealth.

But the real reason behind her being at the pinnacle of this list is due to her ability to match her good looks with her tennis achievements, which has been one of the main reasons for her immense popularity.