Azarenka ends year with highest prize purse

ISTANBUL, TURKEY – OCTOBER 27: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus poses for photographers after being presented a trophy for finishing the year number one in the WTA rankings during the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships at the Sinan Erdem Dome October 27, 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey.

New Delhi, Nov 20 – World No.1 women’s tennis player Victoria Azarenka ended with the highest prize purse of $7,923,920 in the calendar year.

The Belarusian won her first and only Grand Slam till date at the Australian Open in the beginning of the season and also ended the year as World No.1.

World No.3 Serena Williams is second in the list of highest prize money winners with $7,045,975 but this year the American completed a Career Golden Slam in singles, thus becoming only the second woman to do so after Steffi Graf, Xinhua reports.

She is also the first tennis player, male or female, to hold a Career Golden Slam in singles and doubles.

To add to that, Serena also won the last two Grand Slams of the year, Wimbledon and US Open, to extend her tally to 15 major wins.

Russian Maria Sharapova, World No.2, who completed a Career Grand Slam by winning the Roland Garros in June was third with $6,508,296. Sharapova also won the silver medal at the Olympics this year.

The following is the list of the top ten leading prize winners this season:

1. Victoria Azarenka $7,923,920

2. Serena Williams $7,045,975

3. Maria Sharapova $6,508,296

4. Agnieszka Radwanska $4,101,542

5. Sara Errani $3,110,636

6. Petra Kvitova $2,732,875

7. Caroline Wozniacki $2,408,670

8. Li Na $2,280,646

9. Angelique Kerber $1,972,362

10. Sam Stosur $1,936,184