How Naomi Osaka is taking over the sports world

Naomi Osaka has just passed Serena Williams for the highest-paid female athlete of all-time. Here’s why she is beginning to take over the sports world.

Naomi Osaka is one of the biggest stars in tennis. At only 22 years old, she’s already collected two major championships and has achieved the ranking of #1 in the world. As one of the headliners in the tennis world, Osaka hasn’t shied away from the pressure that comes with being one of the best in the world. As a result of her immense success, she’s achieved another milestone: The top-earning female athlete in the world.

Osaka has just passed tennis legend, Serena Williams, as the top-earning female athlete in the world over the last 12 months. The major champion earned $37.4 million over the past 12 months from endorsements and prize money, passing Serena Williams’ $36 million in that span, per a recent piece on Forbes.

In a decade dominated by women’s tennis in terms of yearly earnings, Osaka’s $37.4 million broke the record for a one-year total for a female athlete, previously set by Maria Sharapova in 2015 ($29.7 million). The highest-paid female athlete every year since the 1990s (when Forbes started tracking the results) has been a tennis player. Osaka is the next in line for women’s superstars, continuing the list of legends like Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Serena and Venus Williams, and Maria Sharapova.

Osaka’s marketing ability is massive: she’s a young star who’s at the top of her game. She’s one fo the headline athletes for Nike and has partnered with some other massive brands in the process. Passing Serena Williams in yearly earnings speaks not only to her tennis success but her marketing success, as well.

Williams appeared in the 2019 Wimbledon and US Opens finals since June of 2019, whereas Osaka hasn’t advanced past the Round of 16 in that same time span. The 22-year-old has emerged as one of the biggest stars in tennis and has made more money from endorsements and sponsors than Williams in the last 12 months. It speaks to Osaka’s emergence as an international superstar and how she’s taking the torch from Williams as tennis’s biggest name.

The changing of the guard is beginning and Naomi Osaka is leading the charge. As Williams is quickly looking towards retirement, the up-and-coming star is going to be the new face of women’s tennis and the entire women’s sports world.