
Venus Williams made a dramatic return to tennis in 2025, having spent 16 months away from the WTA Tour.
Tennis legend Williams played 10 matches on the WTA Tour in 2025 in total; four in singles and six in doubles.
She won one singles match and four doubles matches, and ended her comeback season occupying 575th place in the WTA singles rankings.
And it certainly isn’t the end of her stunning career, with Williams set to play at the ASB Classic in early 2026.
Despite her lack of action on the court in recent times, the former singles and doubles world number one was among the highest earning female athletes in 2025.
As reported by Sportico, the American icon ranked 14th this year, having not ranked within the top 15 last year.
Williams earned a total of $10.2 million, with the 45-year-old’s tally split between $219,000 in prize money and $10 million in endorsements.
Her fellow American Coco Gauff topped the list for the third year in a row, having earned $31 million in 2025.
Gauff and Williams certainly aren’t the only tennis players to have made the cut, with 10 players among the 15 top-earning female athletes.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka is second with $30 million, followed by Iga Swiatek in third with $23.1 million.
With $20.6 million, Qinwen Zheng is fifth despite an injury-hit season on the WTA Tour, with Madison Keys in eighth with $13.4 million.
She is followed by Elena Rybakina in ninth with $12.6 million, while Naomi Osaka is tenth with $12.5 million.
And ranked 12th and 13th respectively are American duo Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula, earning $10.8 million and $10.5 million respectively.
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