Naomi Osaka has made more money over a 12-month period than any other female athlete in history, according to a leading sports business publication.
Sportico has named the world No.2 as the 15th highest earning athlete of 2021 with Roger Federer being the only tennis player to have earned more than her. According to research conducted by the company, Osaka made a total of $55.2M between June 2020 and May 2021 despite there being a global pandemic. It is estimated that $50M of her pay has come from off-court activities such as endorsements.
It has been reported that the four-time Grand Slam winner has various deals with the likes of Tag Heuer, Levi’s and Luis Vuitton. Furthermore, she is said to have a Nike deal which sees her receive an annual payment in ‘eight figures.’ More recently Osaka became an ambassador for
Restaurant company Sweetgreen. According to Forbes.com, she has also previously signed deals with the likes of All Nippon Airways, BodyArmor, Mastercard, Nissan Motor, Nissin Foods Holdings, Procter & Gamble, Shiseido and Yonex.
Sportico notes that one of the key factors in the surge of earnings is due to Osaka being half-Japanese with the Olympic Games coming up. Presenting an opportunity for various companies who want to partner up with the tennis star to promote their products ahead of the Games.
Only three other athletes have managed to earn more than Osaka in endorsements over the past 12 months – Federer ($84M), LeBron James ($70M) and Tiger Woods ($62M).
Overall, a total of six tennis players has made it into the top 100 in Sportico’s highest earning athletes of 2021 list. Federer leads the group with combined earnings of $84M. After him is Serena Williams ($35.5M), Novak Djokovic ($33.4M),Kei Nishikori ($26.6M) and Rafael Nadal ($26.6M).
Tennis continues to lead the way when it comes to women’s sport in terms of earnings with Osaka and Williams being the only female athletes to make the top 100. After those, Sportico says there are ‘several tennis players in the $4 million to $6 million range.’
Breakdown of earnings
| Endorsements(US$) | Winnings (US$) | Total (US$) | |
| Naomi Osaka | 50M | 5.2M | 55.2M |
| Roger Federer | 84M | 0.046M | 84.046M |
| Serena Williams | 34M | 1.5M | 35.5M |
| Novak Djokovic | 29M | 4.4M | 33.4M |
| Kei Nishikori | 26M | 0.554M | 26.554M |
| Rafael Nadal | 23M | 3.5M | 26.5M |
