Romanian tennis ace Simona Halep, who is No.1 in the WTA singles ranking, went up two places in Forbes’ ranking of highest-paid female athletes.

With total earnings of USD 7.7 million in the 12 months ending June 1, 2018, Halep ranks eighth in the top, up from the tenth place in the previous ranking.

“The world’s top-ranked tennis player had her deal with Adidas expire at the end of 2017. She reached the Australian Open final in January wearing a dress she designed herself. Nike inked the Romanian to a multiyear pact the following month,” reads Forbes’ presentation of Simona Halep.

The 10 highest-paid female athletes saw total earnings of USD 105 million between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018, down 4% compared to last year and 28% from five years ago.

However, tennis players continue to dominate the list. American tennis player Serena Williams remained the highest-paid athlete with total earnings of USD 18.1 million, followed by Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki with USD 13 million, and American tennis player Sloane Stephens with USD 11.2 million.

The top continues with yet another tennis player, Garbine Muguruza, who saw total earnings of USD 11 million between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018. Maria Sharapova comes next with USD 10.5 million, followed by Venus Williams with USD 10.2 million.

Indian badminton player P.V. Sindhu is at number seven in the top, with USD 8.5 million, while race car driver Danica Patrick is ranked ninth with total earnings of USD 7.5 million and German tennis player Angelique Kerber completes the top ten with earnings of USD 7 million.

Simona Halep is the top seed for this year's US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. Meanwhile, former champion Serena Williams seeded 17th on her return to Flushing Meadows. Another Romanian tennis player, Mihaela Buzarnescu, is seeded 21st. The full list is available here.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Roland Garros on Facebook)