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Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Chris Evert dominated the world of tennis and etched their names in history as three of the greatest athletes of all time through their individual accolades and records. All three are in the International Tennis Hall of Fame and have a range of records and accomplishments to their names.
Graf's reign came a little after Navratilova and Evert's rivalry, but owing to the stature they have earned for themselves, their names are taken together as much as they are discussed individually. The German retired in 1999 with 22 majors, the third-most to be won by a tennis player. Navratilova retired with 18 major singles titles in 1994. Similarly, at a tie with her arch-rival, Evert retired in 1989 with 18 Grand Slams titles.
However, just like most successful sportspersons, their careers helped them create an identity that went beyond the tennis court, helping them attract lucrative deals through sponsorships and a range of other ventures. Therefore, combining the same with the their career earnings that came from the numerous tournaments they won, they are considered as three of the richest female athletes of all time.
In continuation to the same, let's take a look into the individual net worth of these tennis legends and see who tops the list.
#3 Chris Evert
American former World No.1 Chris Evert won 18 Grand Slams and was the World No.1 for several years. She became the first tennis player to win 1000 singles matches and with 1309, she has the second-most career match wins behind Martina Navratilova's 1442.
She was either ranked World No.1 or World No.2 for a large part of her career, and in 1976, she also became the first tennis player to reach $1 million in career prize money. Additionally, the International Hall of Fame Inductee holds an overall win percentage of 88.52%.
As per Celebrity Net Worth, she currently has a net worth of $16 million and despite retiring from the sport in 1989, she continues to be associated with the tennis world as she owns the Event Tennis Academy in Florida, and contributes to the Tennis Magazine. She also serves as a commentator on ESPN for Grand Slam tournaments.
While Evert comes under the category of the richest female athletes of the world, she trails behind her contemporaries and other prominent names from the tennis world including Navratilov and Graf.
#2 Martina Navratilova
Czech-American former professional tennis player Martina Navratilova is regarded as one of the best female tennis players of all time across both doubles and singles. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 women's doubles majors and 10 in the mixed doubles category.
Her rivalry with Evert is one of the most prominent ones in the history of the sport, wherein she managed to get the better of most of the records set by the American, in addition to a record nine Wimbledon titles. As she dominated the tennis scene in the 1970s and 1980s, the shift came in after Steffi Graf challenged Navratilova.
As a former tennis player and coach, Navratilova has a net worth of $25 million through endorsements (Source: Celebrity Net Worth) and career earnings of roughly $20 million in tournament prizes. Her endorsements include Thorlo athletic socks, Denon Sound system, and Yonex rackets among others. She has also served as a studio analyst for Tennis Channel, contributing further to her overall earnings.
#1 Steffi Graf
German former tennis player Steffi Graf is one of the five tennis players to have won the Career Golden Slam, and among many other accomplishments, she is easily regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Over a career spanning over two decades, Graf won 22 Grand Slams, the third most in the history of the game. She was ranked WTA World No.1 for a record 377 weeks and is the only tennis player to have won each Grand Slam at least four times.
Through her numerous accomplishments accompanied by endorsements, off-court ventures, and her marriage to former tennis player Andre Agassi, she has a net worth of $145 million (Source: Celebrity Net Worth) and earned $21 million in prize money throughout her professional career. Additionally, during her career, she was sponsored by Adidas and donned the company's apparel and shoes known as the St. Graf Pro Line.
Since her retirement from tennis in 1999, she has dedicated most of her time to philanthrophic initiatives. She is the founder and chairperson of non-profit foundation Children for Tomorrow, developing projects to support traumatized kids affected by violence, war, and persecution.
Therefore, more through the number of matches she played and won than anything else, Graf earned a great deal of money for herself, something that still places her in the category of the world's richest female athletes, even years after her retirement.
