--- title: There's Only One Woman on Forbes' New List of the 100 Highest-Paid Athletes description: Serena Williams clocked in at 51 on the 100-person list, which was topped by Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, and Lionel Messi. authors: - name: Kristen Bahler role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/ bio: Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. Today, she leads Money's sponsored content channel and reader-favorite franchises like Best Places to Live and Best Places to Travel. education: Northeastern University, MA Journalism at_money_since: 2016 articles: 52 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-bahler/ published: '2017-06-08T15:45:00.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T06:02:57.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - Equal Pay - salaries - Serena Wililams - Sports - Sports - wage gap word_count: 270 canonical: https://money.com/female-highest-paid-athletes/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![2017 Australian Open - Day 13](https://img.money.com/2017/06/170608_serena-williams.jpg) *Serena Williams waves to the crowd as she leaves the court with the Daphne Akhurst Trophy after winning the Women's Singles Final against Venus Williams of the United States on day 13 of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 28, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia.* *Forbes*' list of the 100 highest-paid athletes of 2017 is out and only one female is in the mix. [Tennis star Serena Williams](https://money.com/what-sports-can-learn-womens-tennis-success/?iid=sr-link7), who recently won her 23rd Grand Slam singles tennis title in January while [gestating life](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/sports/tennis/serena-williams-pregnant-snapchat.html?mcubz=0), earned $27 million over the last year, making her the highest-paid female athlete in the world. But Williams clocked in at 51 on the 100-person list overall; another tennis star, Roger Federer, landed in the top ten earning more than double that Williams, at $64 million. The ranking changed little from last year's, though Maria Sharapova — who held the title of highest-paid female athlete for 11 years before Williams unseated her in 2016 — was noticeably missing. Sharapova, a frequent rival of Williams on the tennis court, [was suspended from competing last year](https://time.com/4368350/maria-sharapova-appeals-doping-suspension/) after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Another pay-gap fact apparent in the list: Williams, regularly [recognized](http://www.etonline.com/news/194789_why_serena_williams_is_the_greatest_athlete_ever/) as one of [the greatest athletes](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/07/serena-williams-greatest-sportsperson-ever) of [all time,](https://www.si.com/sportsperson/2015/12/14/serena-williams-si-sportsperson-year) has one of the lowest salaries on the entire list — *Forbes* says she made just $8 million in combined salary and winnings over the last year (compared to, say, soccer star Christiano Ronaldo's $58 million). Her inclusion on the annual ranking is thanks, in large part, to $19 million in endorsements. Below is the top 10 athletes on Forbes' 2017 list: 1\. Christiano Ronaldo ($93 million) 2\. LeBron James ($86.2 million) 3\. Lionel Messi ($80 million) 4\. Roger Federer ($64 million) 5\. Kevin Durant ($60.6 million) 6\. Andrew Luck ($50 million) 7\. Rory McIlroy ($50 million) 8\. Stephen Curry ($47.3 million) 9\. James Harden ($46.6 million) 10\. 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