Forbes has identified tennis player Maria Sharapova as the highest paid female athlete for the year.
Sharapova topped the Forbes list with her $29.5 million earnings. The tennis star suffered injuries in 2013, wherein she only played one match in the second half of the year. By 2014, the Russian athlete bounced back and won her second French Open title and fifth Grand Slam overall. Sharapova's prize money of $6.7 million is almost triple what she earned in the past 12 months.
The Forbes report also mentioned Sharapova landing several lucrative endorsement deals which added to her net worth. These endorsement partnerships includes Avon Products, Samsung, Tag Heuer and Evian. The tennis star also has sponsorship agreements with Nike and Head. In 2012, Sharapova added "businesswoman" to her impressive resume when she launched her own candy line called "Sugarpova." Sales of Sharapova's sweet treats reportedly doubled in the past year, to more than three million bags of candies. Aside from topping the list of highest paid female athletes, Sharapova also landed at number 26 of the world's highest paid athlete. The tennis star also ranked number 88 in Forbes' Celebrity 100 list.
Other female athletes who made it to the top three slots in Forbes' list included tennis players Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki, with $24.6 million and $14.6 million, respectively.
Meanwhile, during the first quarter of 2015, Sharapova faced criticisms from nutritionists over her candy line "Sugarpova." In an interview with CNBC, the tennis star mentioned that while she understood the criticism and health concerns surrounding her premium candy products, she did not think it was "fair." Sharapova explained, "It's understandable. I don't know that it's fair but I understand the criticism. But the only way to respond to that is that I'm an athlete that knows what is healthy and what is not for my body. Being healthy is one of the biggest priorities as a professional athlete. But on the other hand I also know that everyone loves sweets including myself."
