Serena Williams: Tennis icon tops list of highest-paid female athletes ▷ Kenya News

- Serena Williams topped the list after earning lucrative sponsorship deals

- The list was dominated by tennis stars with no athlete from a different making the top 10

- Alex Morgan was the only footballer who made it into the top 15 after ranking 12th

American tennis superstar Serena Williams has emerged top on Forbes' list of highest-paid female athletes for the fourth consecutive year.

This after the 23-time grand slam singles champion raking in a massive £24million in earnings in the past year.

Much of the earnings can be attributed to lucrative endorsements as she earned a paltry £3.4m in prize money.

Naomi Osaka was ranked second in the list dominated by tennis stars as she became just the fourth woman to earn more than £16.5m ($20m) in a year after Serana, Maria Sharapova and Li Na.

Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep and Sloane Stephens completed the top five podium of highest-paid female athletes.

The highest-placed athlete from a different sport other than tennis was United States football star Alex Morgan, who ranked 12th after earning £4.75m ($5.8m).

Others were Indian badminton star P.V. Sindhu and Thai golf star Ariya Jutanugarn who finished 13th and 15th respectively.

Here is a list of the Forbes top 15 earners:

1. Serena Williams (tennis) - £24m ($29.2m)

2. Naomi Osaka (tennis) - $24.3 million

3. Angelique Kerber (tennis) - £9.7m ($11.8m)

4. Simona Halep (tennis) - £8.4m ($10.2m)

5. Sloane Stephens (tennis) - £7.9m ($9.6m)

6. Caroline Wozniacki (tennis) - £6.2m ($7.5m)

7. Maria Sharapova (tennis) - £5.8m ($7m)

8. Karolina Pliskova (tennis) - £5.1m ($6.3m)

9. Elina Svitolina (tennis) - £5m ($6.1m)

10. (tie). Venus Williams (tennis) - £4.8m ($5.9m)

10 (tie). Garbine Muguruza (tennis) - £4.8m ($5.9m)

12. Alex Morgan (football) - £4.7 ($5.8m)

13 (tie). P.V. Sindhu (badminton) - £4.5m ($5.5m)

13 (tie). Madison Keys (tennis) - £4.5m ($5.5m)

15. Ariya Jutanugarn (golf) - £4.4m ($5.3m)

Source: Tuko