Russia's Sharapova named world's highest-paid female athlete
NEW YORK. August 20. KAZINFORM Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova was named the world's highest-paid female athlete by Forbes magazine. Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
Sharapova pulled in $24.5 million over the past year, including $1 million earned from prize money and the rest derived from endorsements and appearance fees, Forbes said.
Sharapova, 23, became an overnight tennis sensation at the age of 17 when she won Wimbledon in 2004, and quickly showed her business acumen by signing lucrative contracts with global brands Canon, Motorola, Tiffany, Land Rover, and Colgate-Palmolive.
But her biggest deal is with Nike, which re-signed the Russian star in January to an eight-year contract worth up to $70 million.
The Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, occupy the No. 2 and No. 3 slots in the Forbes' list, respectively. According to the survey, Serena's earnings account for $20.2 million while Venus earned $15.4 million over the past year. Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.