The magazine forbes published last Thursday (22) the list of the 25 highest paid athletes of the year 2022. The highlights are the tennis players Naomi Osaka (Japan) and Serena Williams (USA)who top the charts and maintain the financial hegemony of tennis alongside other athletes in the sport.

The total collection reached approximately 285 million US dollars (1.4 billion reais) without taking into account taxes and fees applied to agents. The ten highest-paid companies account for 194 million US dollars (1 billion reais) of the total, or 71.4% of the total and an increase of 17% compared to 2021, when the amount reached a record of 167 million. US dollars (BRL 868 million).

Such an increase in collections implies the growth of certain women’s sports in terms of audience and sponsorship. In soccer, the women’s euro cup and women’s club leagues had in-person and TV ratings well above the average for recent years. Consequently, the Fifa announced a Club World Cup for modality. In basketball, the WNBA had its best ratings in 14 years in the regular season, in addition to reaching high ratings in the collegiate categories.

Here is the list of the highest paid athletes of the year:

1. Naomi Osaka: $51.1 million (265.8 million reais)

_{Tennis player Naomi Osaka. Reading: Netflix/Review}

The 25-year-old Japanese tennis player earns around $1.1 million on the court. Other than that, it’s about 50 million US dollars. Despite losing sponsorship with bankrupt cryptocurrency company FTX, Osaka businesses have generated huge revenue. Among them, a line of skin care products, a talent agency and a team of “pickleball🇧🇷

2. Serena Williams: $41.3 million (214.8 million reais)

_{Tennis player Serena Williams. Breeding: Suno}

The American tennis player, considered the greatest of all time, earned around $0.3 million on the court and $41 million off it. Doubts about her retirement haven’t stopped her from pursuing other activities, such as giving talks and investing in more than 70 startups. Serena also participated in the film “GlassOnion: A mystery at loggerheads🇧🇷

3. Eileen Gu: $20.1 million (R$104.5 million)

_{Skier Eileen Gu. Reproduction: Christophe Pallot/Zoom Agency/Getty Images/Self}

The American-Chinese skier is 19 years old and works for the Chinese delegation. In the modality, she earns around US$0.1 million and apart from that, she earns around US$20 million.

Gu stood out in Winter Olympics in Beijing earlier this year, where he won a gold and a silver. Among its sponsors are Red Bull and Louis Vittonin addition to Chinese Megniu’s diary and JD.com🇧🇷

4. Emma Raducanu: $18.7 million (R$97.2 million)

_{Tennis player Emma Raducanu. Reading: WTA/Jimmie48/IMPA}

The British-Canadian tennis player won the U.S. Open 2021 at 18 and ended a 44-year drought without a British tennis player winning one of the four tournaments Grand Slam tennis. Today, at age 20, she earns an estimated $0.7 million on the court and $18 million off the court.

Her social media posts generate the highest average engagement of any female tennis player, according to SponsorUnited🇧🇷

5. Iga Świątek: $14.9 million (77.5 million reais)

_{Tennis player Iga Świątek. Reproduction: Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP/Folha de S. Paulo}

The Polish tennis player won this year’s editions of U.S. Open and Roland Garros🇧🇷 As a result, it reached the number one spot in the world sports rankings.

In September this year, Świątek signed a contract with IMGthe largest tennis agency, including sponsors such as the Japanese Sporting Goods Company asics and the Polish insurance company PZU🇧🇷

Other athletes:

6. Venus Williams: 12.1 million USD (62.9 million R$);
7. coconut bong: 11.1 million USD (57.7 million R$);
8. Simone Biles: 10 million US dollars (52 million reais);
9. Jessica Pegula: 7.6 million USD (39.5 million R$);
10. Minjee Lee: 7.3 million USD (37.9 million R$);
11. Candice Parker: US$7.2 million (R$37.5 million);
12. PV Sindhu: 7.1 million USD (36.9 million R$);
13. Leylah Fernandez: 7 million USD (36.4 million R$);
14. Lydia Ko: 6.9 million USD (35.8 million R$);
15. Ons Jabeur: US$6.5 million (R$33.8 million);
16. Paula Badosa: 6.2 million USD (32.2 million R$);
17. Lexi Thompson: 5.9 million USD (30.7 million R$);
18. Jin Young Ko: 5.8 million USD (30.1 million R$);
19. To Gee Chun: 5.7 million USD (29.6 million R$);
20. Alex Morgan: 5.7 million USD (29.5 million R$);
21. Megan Rapinoe: 5.7 million USD (29.5 million R$);
22. Brooke Henderson: US$5.4 million (R$28 million);
23. Nelly Korda: US$5.4 million (R$28 million);
24. Caroline Garcia: US$5.2 million (R$27 million);
25. Garbine Muguruza: 5.2 million USD (27 million R$).

Featured photo: Naomi Osaka (left) and Serena Williams (right). Breeding: Glamurama (UOL).