Infamous pro tennis player Naomi Osaka has reached a new female athlete record at $55.2 million in earnings over the last 12 months.
The tennis pro has won $5.2 million in prize money and an estimated $50 million off the court.
This leaves Osaka at No. 15 in Sportico’s ranking of the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes.
Naomi Osaka was first thrown into the global spotlight in 2018 with her memorable U.S. Open win over Serena Williams. She later backed up this win four months later with a second grand slam in Australia, making her the first singles majors ever for a Japanese player.
Over the past year, Osaka has constituted one of the most memorable years ever by an athlete, male or female, across any sport.
Aside from her athletic praises, she has been commemorated for raising awareness around police shootings with her actions.
Especially after she pulled out of an event in Cincinnati and then wore masks in New York, highlighting seven Black police shootings victims.
Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert at Baker Street Advertising, said, “It used to be that you open your mouth too loudly, and nobody wants to touch you.”
“Now, everybody talks about brands taking a stand. Osaka stands up for what she believes in and comes across as very real,” he added.
Her $50 million off the court came second only to a trio of active athletes regarding endorsements: Roger Federer, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods.
Stuart Duguid, the IMG agent steering Osaka’s marketing career, said, “Being a woman has made her even more attractive for sponsors.”
“There’s a big push to invest in women in sports,” he continued.
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Osaka has the desire to invest in women, too.
She bought a stake in the NWSL’s North Carolina Courage and has encouraged her endorsement partners to invest in the nine-year-old soccer league.
One of them being global financial services giant Mastercard, signing a multi-year sponsorship at the beginning of the 2021 season start, making them an official sponsor of the league.
