Iga Swiatek may not have won last week's WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan but she still earned enough money to make it past Venus Williams on WTA's all-time earners list and become the second player on the list.
In her Wuhan debut, the Polish tennis star defeated Marie Bouzkova and Belinda Bencic before suffering a shock 1-6 2-6 quarterfinal loss to Jasmine Paolini. By making the last-eight stage at the Wuhan Open, the 24-year-old pocketed $83,250 in prize money. Now, the reigning Wimbledon champion's career prize money total stands at $42,862,240.
Previously, the second spot on the list was held by seven-time Grand Slam champion Williams, who has earned $42,867,364 in prize money. As you probably know, the 45-year-old American is still listed as active and has played three tournaments this year. However, it is tough to envision the American ever again returning to the No. 2 spot for the most career prize money in WTA history.
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While Swiatek surpassed Williams and is now the second-biggest earner in WTA history, she is still well behind Serena, who comfortably owns the top spot with $94,816,730 earned in her career.
How much money Swiatek has earned so far this year?
Swiatek struggled in the first part of the season and went 13 months without a title. Then, the Polish tennis giant found her mojo during the summer and landed her maiden Wimbledon title. A month later, the 24-year-old also won her first title at the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati. Recently, she also made it all the way at the WTA 500 tournament in Seoul.
When it comes to prize money, Swiatek has collected $9,417,532 from competing in tournaments so far this year. Since she is also set to take part at the WTA Finals, that total should easily go over $10 million on the year.
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With this trajectory, Swiatekcould surpass Serena Williams as the top earner in WTA history in the next six years.
It is worth mentioning that Aryna Sabalenka sits at No. 4 on the list with$42,480,621 pocketed in her career so far.
