Top five tennis players with highest prize money earned on WTA Tour in 2024

Aryna Sabalenka narrowly leads Coco Gauff in the prize money sweepstakes.

The 2024 season has been a year for the record books, witnessing rising tennis stars in the WTA Tour making a splash amid well-scripted comebacks accompanied by a constant shuffle in the WTA rankings up and down the order. 

The record-breaking season also has seen the tournament organisers dole out large payouts to keep players invested and draw in the spectators who turn up to watch their favourite tennis players in action. 

Donna Vekic, Qinwen Zheng, Katie Boulter, Anna Kalinskaya, Mirra Andreeva, Barbora Krejickoca, Jasmine Paolini, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek all either made significant strides in their careers or successfully cemented their place among the record books of women’s tennis.

Also Read: Top five WTA players who can bag their maiden title in 2025

These extraordinary women reached career highs in the rankings while earning significant salaries for their efforts on the tennis court.

Swaitek ($9.8 million), Aryna Sabalenka ($8.2 million) and Coco Gauff ($6.7 million) were the top three earners of the 2023 season. Jessica Pegula ($5.9 million) and Elena Rybakina ($5.5 million) rounded off the top five earners last season.

The 2024 season has seen the order undergo a shuffle with two new names on the list, with Pegula and Rybakina being nudged down the order. Here are the top five tennis players with the highest prize money earned on the WTA Tour in 2024.

Qinwen Zheng ($5.56 million)

Qinwen Zheng ensured her 2024 season started on a strong note by reaching her first Grand Slam final at the 2024 Australian Open. Later, in the US Open, she made a quarter-final appearance for a second consecutive year. These two appearances earned her a total of $2.25 million, approximately half of the $5.5 million the Chinese has earned this year.

The Australian Open final run fetched Zheng a place among the WTA top ten for the first time when she became the World No. 7. To cap an excellent year, Zheng picked up a cheque for $2.3 million for reaching the finals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

En route, she also won the Olympic Gold in the Paris Olympics, becoming the first Chinese – man or woman to claim the gold at an Olympics in tennis. Zheng’s culmination of the 2024 season as the World No. 5 is a significant milestone for the 22-year-old.

Jasmine Paolini ($5.82 million)

Jasmine Paolini rose from a dark horse to a player meaning business in the 2024 season. The Italian pulled off back-to-back appearances in the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals. It was Paolini’s best result at a Grand Slam and her maiden trip to the title round in any major since making her WTA debut at 2015 Rome.

Making the finals in Paris and London alone earned the Italian $3.03 million of the $5.8 million she earned in 2024. Paolini added another $523,485 for winning the WTA 1000 in Dubai, her greatest victory to date. Qualifying and participating at the season-ending WTA finals fetched Paolini a $685,000 cheque.

The 28-year-old also obtained the World No. 4 position following a quarter-final run at the Wuhan Open in October.

Also Read: Top five tennis players with highest prize money earned on ATP Tour in 2024

Iga Swiatek ($8.55 million)

Iga Swiatek moved from pole position to third on the list in 2023. The shortfall can be attributed to the Pole missing the Asian swing after parting ways with long-time coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. 

A title run in Roland Garros and reaching the last eight in the US Open contributed $3 million to the tidy sum of $8.5 million garnered by Swiatek in 2024. Another 3.28 million landed into Swiatek’s pocket from winning WTA 1000 events at Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid and Rome. 

By the time the season reached its conclusion at the WTA Finals, the Pole had also added three semi-final appearances at Dubai, Stuttgart and Cincinnati. The $400,000 and the $1.03 million in earnings from the WTA Finals contributed the rest of Swiatek’s haul in the 2024 season.

Coco Gauff ($9.35 million)

Coco Gauff benefitted from a windfall of $4.8 million for winning the inaugural Riyadh edition of the WTA Finals held in 2024. The amount is little more than half of Gauff’s total earnings this season. The American had a relatively forgettable year until she bagged the WTA Finals trophy, pipping hot favourite Aryna Sabalenka to cross the finish line. The winner’s cheque also helps Gauff close the gap with Sabalenka’s winnings in 2024. 

Gauff reached the semi-finals of the Grand Slam events in Melbourne and France to earn $1.68 million at the beginning of the season. Holding on to her ASB Classic title from 2023 and taking home the China Open trophy for the first time in 2024 gifted the American another $1.14 million.

Making the semi-final at the Wuhan Open, another WTA 1000 event following the China Open, contributed another  $309,000 for Gauff to end the year with a record $9.35 million. That’s an increase of 2.68 million or 29%.   

Aryna Sabalenka ($9.73 million)

Aryna Sabalenka converted her final appearances at the Australian Open and US Open into victories. The Belarusian’s WTA 1000 title wins in Cincinnati and Wuhan have added to her earnings. The bulk of the $6.75 million came from reclaiming the trophy in Melbourne ($3.15 million) and ($3.6 million)  from winning the US Open for the first time.

A further $1.04 million from returning victorious at the Cincinnati Open and the Wuhan Open, along with $1.03 million after reaching the last four in Riyadh. The recently concluded WTA Finals also witnessed Sabalenka claim the year-ending No.1 position, taking over from Iga Swiatek.  

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram