PV Sindhu becomes the highest-paid female badminton player in 2024

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has become the highest-paid female shuttler in the world, according to a Forbes list.

Sindhu, who has also won five BWF World Championship medals, including a gold in 2019, earned $7.1 million in 2024. She is ranked 17th on the list. With this earning, Sindhu is also the highest-paid female athlete in India.

"Sindhu’s name recognition may be lacking in the US, she is a huge marketing star in her native India. This is her sixth appearance on Forbes’ female athlete earnings ranking," Forbes noted in its list for 2024.

The 29-year-old shuttler, who recently married Venkata Datta Sai in Udaipur, Rajasthan, is a 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and won an Asian Games silver medal in 2018.

Sindhu led the Indian women’s team to their first title at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February and also served as her country’s co-flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Paris Summer Games.

At the Paris Olympics, Sindhu, who had previously won a silver medal in the Rio Olympics in 2016 and a bronze in Tokyo in 2021, was knocked out in the round of 16 by He Bing Jiao of China.

In 2024, Sindhu, who won the Syed Modi India International this year, earned $0.1 million from her on-field performances, with the majority of her income coming from endorsement deals. However, her overall income remained stagnant. She was the 12th highest-paid female athlete in 2022 with the same earnings.

Sindhu's on-field earnings are among the lowest on the list, reflecting the poor prize money distribution in badminton tournaments. Nevertheless, her popularity in India has helped her secure numerous brand endorsement deals, which contributed significantly to her earnings.

The highest-paid female athlete on the list of 19 is American tennis player Coco Gauff, who earned $34.4 million. Iga Świątek ($23.8 million) is a distant second, while freestyle skier Eileen Gu ($22.1 million) is ranked third.

Methodology

The Forbes ranking of the world’s highest-paid female athletes reflects earnings from the calendar year 2024.

The on-field earnings figures include base salaries, bonuses, stipends and prize money and are rounded to the nearest $100,000.

"The off-field earnings estimates, which are rounded to the nearest $500,000, are determined through conversations with industry insiders and reflect annual cash from endorsements, licensing, appearances and memorabilia, as well as cash returns from any businesses in which the athlete has a significant interest. Forbes does not include investment income like interest payments or dividends but does account for payouts from equity stakes athletes have sold. Forbes does not deduct for taxes or agents’ fees. The list includes athletes active at any point during the 12-month period," it noted.