Leylah Fernandez continues her slow ascent back to the top of the world rankings. Although the comeback she was counting on this past season didn’t materialize, the former No. 13 still managed to close out 2023 with a bang in terms of numbers—tennis stats and wealth.
Outside the WTA, Leylah ranks in another Top 20 as one of the world’s highest-paid female athletes. She shares the 13th spot with Mikaela Shiffrin, who holds the most World Cup wins of any alpine skier in history. Their earnings total US$6.1M this year: US$1.1M in prize money and US$5M in sponsorships.
Fernandez is currently working with 10 sponsors, including Lululemon, Subway, Google, Gatorade, Lego, Ritz Canada and Morgan Stanley.
When Morgan Stanley partnered with the WTA, she signed on to be in a women’s tennis campaign that was broadcast during the US Open this summer.
But back to tennis.
Since mid-September, Leylah’s won 15 of 18 matches including qualifiers and Billie Jean King Cup, where her four victories for Canada were the highlight of the season.
And the best is yet to come.
ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER
Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka is gearing up for a comeback after giving birth to her daughter Shai. But even in her year off the courts, her vast sponsorship portfolio brought in several million dollars.
Indeed the avalanche of contracts that followed her 2018 US Open triumph at the expense of Serena Williams—the first of four Grand Slam crowns—continues to pay off.
And like Serena and the other women who’ve had children and returned to the WTA, Naomi is now playing for more than just herself. She’ll always have Shai on her mind, on and off the court.
She may not have competed in 2023, but the Japanese tennis star is No. 5 in Sportico’s ranking of the highest-paid female athletes. In case you were wondering, Coco Gauff is no.1, followed by No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Take a closer look, and you’ll see that the Top 8 are all tennis players with the exception of no. 3, US-born Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu who’s signed with some 20 partners including Estée Lauder, Louis Vuitton, Victoria’s Secret and Tiffany & Co., as well as Chinese brands like China Mobile, Anta, Bank of China and JD.com.
