7 highest-earning female players of 2022 ft. Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff

Over the years, the prize money offered by various tournaments has only gone up. Most events also offer women an equal share of prize money compared to their male counterparts.

Grand Slams remain the source of players' biggest paychecks during the season. Back in 2019, Ashleigh Barty did earn upwards of $4 million by winning the WTA Finals, but the champion's prize money for the same tournament this year was nowhere close to that.

Iga Swiatek has been the most dominant player this year, so it's no surprise that she's the highest-earning player on the WTA tour this season. Still, she was a fair bit off the benchmark set by Serena Williams' record haul of $12.3 million in 2013.

On that note, here are the seven highest-earning female players of 2022:

#7 Maria Sakkari - $2.4 million

Maria Sakkari's runner-up finish at the BNP Paribas Open netted her a cheque worth $646,110, the most she's earned in a single tournament this year. A fourth-round finish at the Australian Open helped her bag A$328,000, while reaching the final of the Guadalajara Open added $242,800 to her kitty.

The prize money from those three events made up almost half of Sakkari's earnings this year. Her results at the other Majors and big tournaments weren't that impressive, but some decent results at other smaller tournaments and a semifinal at the WTA Finals helped her cross the $2 million mark. The Greek earned $400,000 more than last year.

#6 Coco Gauff - $3.05 million

Coco Gauff reached the final of the French Open in singles and doubles this year, which collectively fetched her €1,245,000. She also won two WTA 1000 titles in doubles and reached the quarterfinals of the US Open.

The teenager's performance in New York scored her a payday of $445,000. Gauff earned $1.4 million in 2021 and has more than doubled her prize money this year.

#5 Jessica Pegula - $3.611 million

Jessica Pegula at the 2022 Guadalajara Open.

Jessica Pegula's success across singles and doubles saw her earn a considerable amount of prize money this year. A title at the Guadalajara Open helped her secure $412,000, while a runner-up finish at the Madrid Open was rewarded with €568,790.

Pegula also earned $434,293 through her doubles results. After earning $1.4 million last year, she has increased her earnings considerably in 2022.

#4 Elena Rybakina - $3.613 million

Elena Rybakina stunned the world by winning her maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, which also makes up the bulk of her prize money this year. Her triumph at the All England Club scored her £2,000,000. Her results at other tournaments were decent but didn't earn her a fat paycheck. After earning $1.2 million in 2021, the Kazakh has tripled her income this year.

#3 Caroline Garcia - $3.7 million

Garcia enjoyed a career resurgence this year, starting with a second French Open title in doubles. She also reached her maiden Grand Slam semifinal in singles at the US Open, which added $705,000 to her season's tally.

Garcia then won the WTA Finals, which helped her secure a cash prize worth $1.57 million. The French player managed to earn only $598,000 last year, so she has certainly turned things around in 2022. She has also surpassed her previous best single-season prize money mark of $3.4 million, which she earned in 2017.

#2) Ons Jabeur - $4.9 million

A couple of finals at this year's Grand Slams contributed half of Jabeur's prize money. She also won the Madrid Open, which earned her a tidy sum of €1,041,570. The Tunisian also won another title and reached two more finals. After bagging $1.6 million last year, Jabeur has made three times that amount this year.

#1 Iga Swiatek - $9.8 million

Swiatek has enjoyed immense success this year, which directly translates to a significant amount of cash. Winning the French Open and the US Open earned her a total of $4.9 million. She also won four WTA 1000 titles, which added $3.2 million to her yearly total.

Swiatek's consistent results throughout the year rewarded her with more prize money. She fell just shy of breaching the $10 million mark, which only three women have managed to do. Serena Williams did it in 2013 and 2015, while Angelique Kerber and Ashleigh Barty achieved the feat in 2016 and 2019 respectively.

Swiatek earned $1.9 million in 2021 to finish the year ranked 11th in terms of prize money, but has topped the table this time around.