Queen Serena the highest paid female athlete but not yet the most popular

Serena Williams may have just been announced as the highest paid female athlete according to Forbes but she still can’t crack it when it comes to being the most popular on social media.

Trailing behind fellow tennis player Maria Sharapova and UFC fighter Ronda Rousey collectively across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Williams comes in third with a total 13.86 million followers. And when it comes to Sharapova and Rousey, her social media figures are dwarfed with the Russian superstar having 15 million likes on Facebook alone, more than all three of Williams’ social media accounts combined.

While Ronda Rousey trails both Williams and Sharapova on Twitter, her Facebook and Instagram accounts definitely make up for it.

Female social media

On the other hand, it’s Twitter that’s Williams’ most fruitful account with the 34 year old being the fifth most tweeted athlete of the 2016 French Open with 228 273 tweets. She also had the third highest positive social sentiment percentage with 87% (Repucom CelebrityDBI).

In regards to the pocket, Williams managed to usurp Sharapova as the top earning female athlete, earning a whopping US$28.9 million in the last 12 months – no mean feat considering Sharapova has held the position for 11 consecutive years. Williams has managed to secure a significant number of sponsors including JPMorgan Chase, Beats, Nike, PepsiCo, Kinder, Delta Airlines and IBM and she has easily been the best female player in the world for quite a few years.

While it’s quite an understatement to say that Sharapova has experienced an awful 2016 after testing positive for a banned substance, Sharapova still unbelievably managed to earn over US$20 million thanks to endorsements with Nike, Porsche and Tag Heuer.

About author

Germain Massoué
Germain Massoué 27 posts

Germain is a French social media intern at Snack Media and writer for Digital Sport. Follow him on Twitter: @Germain_Nayver

You might also like

SPORTEL 2021: Day One Recap

This year’s prestigious SPORTEL convention kicked off in sunny Monaco today, welcoming a host of familiar faces as well as plenty of new ones. Doors opened at 8:30am with businesses

Six Founding Riders Set To Bring The Vision Of The UCI Track Champions League To Life

Olympic Champions, UCI World Champions and World Record holders join the new track cycling competition debuting in November 2021 The UCI Track Champions League is delighted to announce that six

Sports related spending to soar this summer as pre-pandemic life resumes

New insights from eBay Ads UK reveal the potential for brands to engage with an excited but nervous nation as sports events get back on track  As pubs and indoor