PV Sindhu is the world's seventh highest paid female athlete

[BlackShadow]

The 10 highest-paid female athletes banked $105 million from prize money, appearances, royalties and endorsements in the 12 months ending June 1, 2018. The tally is down 4% from last year and 28% from five years ago. Blame the retirements of popular endorsement stars like Li Na, Danica Patrick and Ana Ivanovic. Another dent: The off-court income of Maria Sharapova, who was the top-earning female athlete for 11 straight years, is still down more than 50% after the fallout from her 16-month suspension for taking a banned substance. Sharapova ranks fifth this year at $10.5 million.

Caroline Wozniacki was widely considered the best player on the women’s tour without a Grand Slam title, but the former top-ranked player broke through at the Australian Open in January. The title was worth $3.1 million in prize money and pushed her total earnings, including off the court, to $13 million, second among female athletes.

Rounding out the top five are three more from the world of tennis in Sloane Stephens ($11.2 million), Garbiñe Muguruza ($11 million) and Sharapova ($10.5 million). The only non-tennis players in the top 10 are Indian badminton star P.V. Sindhu ($8.5 million) and racing's Patrick ($7.5 million).

Top 10 Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2018 by Forbes

1. Serena Williams — Total earnings: $18.1 million (Prize money: $62,000, Endorsements: $18 million)

2. Caroline Wozniacki — Total earnings: $13 million (Prize money: $7 million, Endorsements: $6 million)

3. Sloane Stephens — Total earnings: $11.2 million (Prize money: $5.7 million, Endorsements: $5.5 million)

4. Garbine Muguruza — Total earnings: $11 million (Prize money: $5.5 million, Endorsements: $5.5 million)

5. Maria Sharapova — Total earnings: $10.5 million (Prize money: $1 million, Endorsements: $9.5 million)

6. Venus Williams — Total earnings: $10.2 million (Prize money: $4.2 million, Endorsements: $6 million)

7. PV Sindhu — Total earnings: $8.5 million (Prize money: $500,000, Endorsements: $8 million)

8. Simona Halep — Total earnings: $7.7 million (Prize money: $6.2 million, Endorsements: $1.5 million)

9. Danica Patrick — Total earnings: $7.5 million (Salary/prize money: $3 million, Endorsements: $4.5 million)

10. Angelique Kerber — Total earnings: $7 million (Prize money: $3 million, Endorsements: $4 million)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtba...ghest-paid-female-athletes-2018/#5ab3fd1d405f

 

[KingKhanWC]

Never heard of her.

Women sports are pretty poor quality . Serena is a rare exception .

 

[BlackShadow]

A female Indian badminton player rubbing shoulders with the likes of Williams and Sharapova in any list is great to see. Amazing rise for Sindhu since Rio Olympics 2 years ago!

 

[KingKhanWC]

A female Indian badminton player rubbing shoulders with the likes of Williams and Sharapova in any list is great to see. Amazing rise for Sindhu since Rio Olympics 2 years ago!

Women’s badminton . Sounds great .

 

[BlackShadow]

Never heard of her.

Women sports are pretty poor quality . Serena is a rare exception .

Doesn't matter. The point is a subcontinental girl achieving heights and stardom that were only reserved for male Cricket superstars until a few years ago.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Doesn't matter. The point is a subcontinental girl achieving heights and stardom that were only reserved for male Cricket superstars until a few years ago.

Get the mitthai out .

 

[TM Riddle]

Women’s badminton . Sounds great .

Why so salty KKWC? Just appreciate and move on.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Why so salty KKWC? Just appreciate and move on.

I don’t watch women’s sports apart from perhaps Wimbledon final or the Olympic Games . The quality is poor because naturally women won’t be as good as men .

I’m sure India has great women in other fields such as science or politics but they are hardly mentioned. Some badminton player earning a few bucks gets high praise , when it’s not even a popular sport .

 

[TM Riddle]

I don’t watch women’s sports apart from perhaps Wimbledon final or the Olympic Games . The quality is poor because naturally women won’t be as good as men .

I’m sure India has great women in other fields such as science or politics but they are hardly mentioned. Some badminton player earning a few bucks gets high praise , when it’s not even a popular sport .

Badminton is a pretty popular sport in India, China and SE Asia.
There's a reason why she's earning so much.
Regardless she's an inspiration for many in Subcontinent considering women still have a long way to go in this part of the world and stories such as these should be appreciated.

 

[hafeezrocks]

Never heard of her.
I think Sania Mirza is much more popular and household name.

 

[TM Riddle]

Never heard of her.
I think Sania Mirza is much more popular and household name.

Both PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal have eclipsed Sania's popularity in India after their recent exploits.
I think partly it's also because Sania doesn't play much these days.

 

[Yossarian]

A female Indian badminton player rubbing shoulders with the likes of Williams and Sharapova in any list is great to see. Amazing rise for Sindhu since Rio Olympics 2 years ago!

Whilst the likes of Sharapova and Williams are known around the globe, and thus quite likely that the sources of their earnings, from prize money and endorsements, are also spread around the globe.

In the case of Sidhu, only around 6% of her earnings are prize money, whilst almost 94% are from endorsements. I suspect that this 94% of earnings from endorsements is a reflection of the 1.3 billion population with very few female sports stars, and thus almost exclusively from the large base of Indian sponsors channeling all their sponsorships (ie those for female sports stars) towards a handful of Indian sportswomen.

 

[Swashbuckler]

I don’t watch women’s sports apart from perhaps Wimbledon final or the Olympic Games . The quality is poor because naturally women won’t be as good as men .

I’m sure India has great women in other fields such as science or politics but they are hardly mentioned. Some badminton player earning a few bucks gets high praise , when it’s not even a popular sport .

Badminton is very popular in East Asia, it is even the national game in a few of their countries. For women in sports there aren't many opportunities like men. But after tennis or golf, badminton is a game where women get lot of limelight and high prize money. In cricket or rugby women get no prominence but that isn't the case in badminton. If you watch a women's badminton match you will be surprised to see the quality. Women in sports have less quality compared to men because of biological reasons but there are some sports like gymnastics, badminton, diving, swimming where they have high quality.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Never heard of her.
I think Sania Mirza is much more popular and household name.

Sania is more known because of her Bollywood connections but even that isn't helping her much in recent days. The badminton players, wrestlers, gymnasts, boxers etc have more weight. It is partly because of Mirza's giving up of singles tennis. In India there are many doubles champions and she isn't as successful as others. When she was playing singles she was getting more limelight because before that we had only produced decent male tennis singles players, never female.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Whilst the likes of Sharapova and Williams are known around the globe, and thus quite likely that the sources of their earnings, from prize money and endorsements, are also spread around the globe.

In the case of Sidhu, only around 6% of her earnings are prize money, whilst almost 94% are from endorsements. I suspect that this 94% of earnings from endorsements is a reflection of the 1.3 billion population with very few female sports stars, and thus almost exclusively from the large base of Indian sponsors channeling all their sponsorships (ie those for female sports stars) towards a handful of Indian sportswomen.

Prize money isnt the same in tennis and badminton. Sindhu is a silver medalist at the 2016 Olympics,2017 and 2018 World championships and among top 3 badminton players consistently.

Her endorsements are a reward for her performances which make her a sporting icon in India.

It sometimes better to have knowledge before you suspect and try to put down achievements of people because they are Indian.

 

[BlackShadow]

Whilst the likes of Sharapova and Williams are known around the globe, and thus quite likely that the sources of their earnings, from prize money and endorsements, are also spread around the globe.

In the case of Sidhu, only around 6% of her earnings are prize money, whilst almost 94% are from endorsements. I suspect that this 94% of earnings from endorsements is a reflection of the 1.3 billion population with very few female sports stars, and thus almost exclusively from the large base of Indian sponsors channeling all their sponsorships (ie those for female sports stars) towards a handful of Indian sportswomen.

To me, it isn't about that at all. KingKhanWC's posts above are a perfect example of how this rise in Desi society is not just exemplary, but much needed. Forget female athletes, a country that never cared about any sport other than Cricket has propelled a female badminton player to a level where she is earning as much as Williams and Sharapovas. That's big, and this trend will only encourage young girls. It all started with Sania Mirza, then you saw Marikom, and now Nehwal and Sindhu are really taking it to the next level. This cultural acceptance of female athletes is bigger picture here, and that's what I wanted to highlight.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

Good on her. I hope she is more likeable than Mrs Malik.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

Both PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal have eclipsed Sania's popularity in India after their recent exploits.
I think partly it's also because Sania doesn't play much these days.

More people outside know Sania, as she plays the more popular sport and is married to Malik

 

[Deewana Mastana]

It really is a shame that Pakistani female sportswomen are so so few and even if they are talented they are not supported much at all.

 

[boomboomcheema]

Must thank Indian PP'ers to popularize their otherwise unknown Indian Athletes ( outside of Cricket )

I wouldnt ever know who this Sindhu was if not for this thread.

 

[BlackShadow]

Sania is more known because of her Bollywood connections but even that isn't helping her much in recent days. The badminton players, wrestlers, gymnasts, boxers etc have more weight. It is partly because of Mirza's giving up of singles tennis. In India there are many doubles champions and she isn't as successful as others. When she was playing singles she was getting more limelight because before that we had only produced decent male tennis singles players, never female.

True, I remember the hype around Sania when she had a singles ranking of 27, but then post injury, she gained weight, and could only cover half the court, hence a switch to doubles. Just goes to show how single's achievements even at a less popular sport carry so much more weight.

 

[TM Riddle]

More people outside know Sania, as she plays the more popular sport and is married to Malik

That's true. I was merely talking wrt India where currently these two are enjoying the limelight more thanks to their success in the court.

 

[Rafa]

Did the Indian Badminton players won any medals during the ongoing Asian Games?

 

[TM Riddle]

True, I remember the hype around Sania when she had a singles ranking of 27, but then post injury, she gained weight, and could only cover half the court, hence a switch to doubles. Just goes to show how single's achievements even at a less popular sport carry so much more weight.

If I'm not wrong she reached the 4th round of US Open(?) at her peak which was considered huge considering the situation of women's tennis in the country at that time.
Singles definitely hold much importance otherwise Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati, two champion doubles players, would have been global stars .

 

[BlackShadow]

Must thank Indian PP'ers to popularize their otherwise unknown Indian Athletes ( outside of Cricket )

I wouldnt ever know who this Sindhu was if not for this thread.

That's true for an average Pakistani, but look at it from a different perspective. The current female Pakistani badminton players grew up idolizing Saina Nehwal, and the future ones will be taking inspiration from Sindhu. This is what makes so much difference, watch this video to get an idea.

What Kapil paaji did in Cricket, these girls are doing in Bandminton, for all of South Asia. Gotta respect that.

 

[BlackShadow]

If I'm not wrong she reached the 4th round of US Open(?) at her peak which was considered huge considering the situation of women's tennis in the country at that time.
Singles definitely hold much importance otherwise Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati, two champion doubles players, would have been global stars .

I remember that quarterfinal match against Sharapova, and it was the last Sania Mirza match I watched in it's entirety. Her doubles career never really mattered as much.

 

[Kaptan]

Did the Indian Badminton players won any medals during the ongoing Asian Games?

Singles event has just started. Sidhu won her first match. Saina is currently playing.

 

[Rafa]

Singles event has just started. Sidhu won her first match. Saina is currently playing.

Kool. Will keep an eye on the event as India is participating.

 

[Yossarian]

Prize money isnt the same in tennis and badminton. Sindhu is a silver medalist at the 2016 Olympics,2017 and 2018 World championships and among top 3 badminton players consistently.

Her endorsements are a reward for her performances which make her a sporting icon in India.

It sometimes better to have knowledge before you suspect and try to put down achievements of people because they are Indian.

If that was truly the case, then badminton would be a major sport in India, and India will be churning out badminton stars by the bucket load. Fact is that there are only a handful of Indian female sports stars. And the big Indian sponsors end up competing with each other to sponsor these handful of Indian female sports stars. Else how do you explain someone's who's only major achievements are a couple of silver medals (- and what about those who won the gold medals?), and yet her endorsements rank higher than all but the top three or four global female sports stars in the world?

 

[Swashbuckler]

I remember that quarterfinal match against Sharapova, and it was the last Sania Mirza match I watched in it's entirety. Her doubles career never really mattered as much.

It was 4th round. Only our male players have reached quarterfinals and above in singles.

 

[Swashbuckler]

We may be weak in sports but heartening to see our women do so well, very important in a society such as ours to see women defy traditional roles pre assigned to them before they are born. Indian women have shown that inspite of a male dominated society they can compete with the world's best.

 

[BlackShadow]

It was 4th round. Only our male players have reached quarterfinals and above in singles.

Oh yes, I mixed it up with her QF loss to Sharapova in some San Diego WTA event.

 

[JaDed]

PV Sindhu: How India's Olympic badminton star became a sponsors' dream on £126,000 a week

https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/45268565

It was no surprise when Serena Williams topped the Forbes list of highest-earning female athletes released earlier this week, but you may have not recognised the name of the woman in seventh place.

Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, more commonly known as PV Sindhu, is a 23-year-old badminton player from India and became only the second Indian competitor, male or female, to win an Olympic badminton medal with a silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Her on-court winnings last year totalled $500,000 (£387,000) but endorsements saw Sindhu bring in an extra $8m (£6.2m) in sponsorship in sports-mad India. That works out as a weekly income of $163,000 (£126,000).

That is more than earned by Simona Halep, the WTA world number one as of 22 August, and the top seed for the 2018 US Open.

Sindhu comes from a sporting background with both her parents playing volleyball at national level, but she took up badminton aged six when inspired by Pullela Gopichand, who won the men's singles event at the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001.

Her life and career changed during the women's singles competition at the 2016 Olympics. She was only seeded ninth but gained wins over eighth seed Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei in the last 16, China's second seed Wang Yihan in the quarter-finals and Japan's sixth seed Nozomi Okuhara in the semi-finals before losing to Spain's world number one Carolina Marin in the final.

Forbes - Highest earning female athletes
Name Sport Prize money Endorsements Total
1. Serena Williams (USA) Tennis $62,000 (£48,050) $18m (£13.9m) $18.062m (£14m)
2. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) Tennis $6m (£4.6m) $7m (£5.4m) $13m (£10m)
3. Sloane Stephens (USA) Tennis $5.7m (£4.4m) $5.5m (£4.2m) $11.2m (£8.6m)
4. Garbine Muguruza (Spain) Tennis $5.5m (£4.2m) $5.5m (£4.2m) $11m (£8.5m)
5. Maria Sharapova (Russia) Tennis $1m (£773,500) $9.5m (£7.3m) $10.5m (£8.1m)
6. Venus Williams (USA) Tennis $4.2m (£3.2m) $6m (£4.6m) $10.2m (£7.9m)
7. PV Sindhu (India) Badminton $500,000 (£387,000) $8m (£6.2m) $8.5m (£6.6m)
8. Simona Halep (Romania) Tennis $6.2m (£4.8m) $1.5m (£1.1m) $7.7m (£6m)
9. Danica Patrick (USA) Nascar $3m (£2.3m) $4.5m (£3.5m) $7.5m (£5.8m)
10. Angelique Kerber (Germany) Tennis $3m (£2.3m) £4m (£3.1m) $7m (£5.4m)
"Before the Olympics, when we reached out to sponsors, often we were asked 'Sindhu who?'" said Tuhin Mishra - group managing director of Baseline Ventures, the company that takes care of Sindhu's commercial interests - in an interview with CNBC in 2017.

"The market dynamics were tough. Everyone only wanted to be associated with cricket."

India have only won 28 Olympic medals, with five of those gained by women. No Indian woman has won a gold; Sindhu was the first to earn a silver.

After her return from Rio, she received cash prizes from the different state governments and government institutions worth Rs 13 crore (130m rupees - about £1.4m), while, as a comparison, gold medallist Marin received Rs 70 lakh (7m rupees - about £77,500) from the Spanish government for her achievement.

Sindhu was also awarded land from the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana government and a luxury BMW car from the Hyderabad Badminton Association, presented by cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar.

Since then, a host of companies have been queuing up to be associated with Sindhu, with her sponsorship value matching and surpassing that of many Indian cricketers, apart from captain Virat Kohli.

Those companies on Sindhu's sponsor roster include Bridgestone Tyres, sports drink Gatorade, pain reliever ointment Moov, online fashion store Myntra, Nokia, Panasonic, honey producer APIS Himalaya, herbal health drink firm Ojasvita and the Bank of Baroda. She is also a brand ambassador for both the Central Reserve Police Force and Vizag Steel.

"Her soaring popularity has attracted the attention of so many companies," Mishra told The Times of India in 2016. "Even after achieving stupendous success, her humility and the value she brings to women power is remarkable."

Success off court has also followed success on court, with silver medals at the 2017 and 2018 World Championships and an individual silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, where she also helped her country to mixed team gold.

On Thursday, she begins her campaign in the women's singles at the Asian Games in Indonesia, where she is the third seed.

India have won one individual bronze medal in this competition - Syed Modi in the men's singles in 1982; Sindhu is aiming to become the first Indian woman to secure an Asian Games badminton medal.

If she does, her brand value and marketability will rise further and even more companies will be looking for endorsements, As a result, she could find herself even higher up the Forbes list in 2019.

 

[JaDed]

She is reaching higher levels than Saina even though Saina defeated her last time they faced each other.

 

[cricketjoshila]

She is reaching higher levels than Saina even though Saina defeated her last time they faced each other.

Saina reached world number 1. Won a Olympics Bronze at olympics and has won a bronze and silver at the world championships.And 10 superseries titles. Her achievements are not to be underestimated.

 

[JaDed]

Saina reached world number 1. Won a Olympics Bronze at olympics and has won a bronze and silver at the world championships.And 10 superseries titles. Her achievements are not to be underestimated.

Defn not,but I think people believe Sindhu has a higher ceiling with all the aggression and all.

 

[JaDed]

We may be weak in sports but heartening to see our women do so well, very important in a society such as ours to see women defy traditional roles pre assigned to them before they are born. Indian women have shown that inspite of a male dominated society they can compete with the world's best.

I'm glad at least we agree on something, good to see you having similar view.

 

[jusarrived]

If that was truly the case, then badminton would be a major sport in India, and India will be churning out badminton stars by the bucket load. Fact is that there are only a handful of Indian female sports stars. And the big Indian sponsors end up competing with each other to sponsor these handful of Indian female sports stars. Else how do you explain someone's who's only major achievements are a couple of silver medals (- and what about those who won the gold medals?), and yet her endorsements rank higher than all but the top three or four global female sports stars in the world?

India is churning out bucket loads of badminton players, we have more players in Top100 or at least. Produced world no1s both in men's and womens singles. There are already few juniors like lakshya sen whos talked as the next big thing. So badminton is a major sport in India.

 

[Bhaijaan]

PV Sindhu becomes first ever Indian to win gold at the badminton world championship

Well done woman

 

[MumbaiIndiansFan]

Sindhu also equaled the record for most number of medals won at World Championships in Women's Singles in Badminton. She has now 5 medals at World Championships (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze), equalizing Chinese player Zhang Ning. She is still just 24

Sindhu for me is just so different to other Indian athletes...she doesn't really play that well (or to her full capacity) in most of the tournaments in the year but then suddenly raises her game in the biggest events (Olympics, World Championships) of the year. Her consistency in major tournaments is kinda amazing, even more when you consider how competitive Women's Singles has been in this era. Her results in last 4 major tournaments of the year -
2016 Olympics - Silver
2017 World Championship - Silver (lost in an extremely tight match which was probably greatest Women's match of all time in Badminton)
2018 World Championship - Silver
2019 World Championship - Finally Gold.

She has to be a big favorite again at Tokyo 2020. Richest athlete in Badminton and also a World Champion, not bad.

 

[Realromeo]

Hopefully more women follow her path. Honestly, I never even heard of her but damn she is the 10th richest female athlete and she is not even 25 yet.

 

[JaDed]

To everyone who mocks women's sports, she completely dominated the opponent though.