US tennis star Coco Gauff continues to win off the court, with the 2025 French Open champion topping Sportico's list of the 15 Highest-Paid Female Athletes for the third consecutive year.
Fueled by $23 million in off-court endorsements, the $31 million earned by the 21-year-old world No. 3 WTA player edged out the $30 million total income that fellow tennis star and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka garnered in 2025.
Unsurprisingly, a full 10 athletes on the Sportico Top 15 list are tennis stars, a direct result of the fact that all four Grand Slams and the Masters 1000 tournaments boast equal prize money between the men's and women's competitions — a shift that began with the 1973 US Open.
That established expectation of gender equity in prize money has tennis far outpacing salaries in most other women's sports.
Also making the Top 15 are two LPGA golfers — world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul (No. 15 on the Highest-Paid Female Athletes list) and US star No. 2 Nelly Korda (No. 7) — as well as popular Olympic skiier Eileen Gu (No. 4), WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark (No. 6), and USA gymnastics legend Simone Biles (No. 11).
Notably, Gu, Clark, and Biles as well as Venus Williams (No. 14) all proved the power of endorsements on this year's list, with nearly all of the quartet's earnings coming from sponsorship deals.
Just before the final event of the 2025 Tour, the LPGA raised the stakes for pro women's golf, announcing this week that the governing body is expanding both player paydays and live broadcast coverage for the 2026 season.
For the first time in the sport's history, the LPGA's upcoming 76th Tour will see every round of every tournament broadcast live in the US.
The Tour will also add 50% more camera equipment — including slow-motion and drone cameras — than used in this year's tournaments, with most 2026 LPGA action airing live on the Golf Channel or CNBC.
"For us to finally get our shot at having live TV and for people investing in our product out here has been amazing," US star and world No. 2 Nelly Korda said on Wednesday. "I can't wait to see where it's going to go."
Even more, next season's total prize money will reach $132 million across the Tour's 33 tournaments, a record-high sum after five major events raised their purses by a cumulative $3 million.
There will also be more financial commitment across the board, with 12 events on the 2026 LPGA Tour featuring elevated purses and more than 15 guaranteeing a minimum payout for all players — even those who miss the cut.
"I'm incredibly proud of what we've built, and even more excited about where we're headed," said LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler. "Coming off our 75th anniversary season, we wanted a calendar that gives our athletes great stages, better flow, and even more opportunity — and I think 2026 delivers that."
LPGA season wraps with this week's 2025 CME Group Tour Championship
Though the LPGA is already planning for its 2026 campaign, the final event of the 2025 Tour kicked off on Thursday, as this year's top 60 points-getters teed off in the CME Group Tour Championship.
Featuring 28 of the 29 event champions this year as well as every world Top 25 player, the 2025 Tour's grand finale will see the sport's best battling for the lion's share of the $11 million purse in Naples, Florida.
Leading the field is the aforementioned US standout Korda as well as 2024 CME Group Tour champion and world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul and New Zealand's two-time winner No. 5 Lydia Ko.
An impressive eight LPGA rookies also made the cut to enter the elite end-of-season tournament, including Japan's No. 3 Miyu Yamashita and England's No. 10 Lottie Woad.
How to watch the 2025 CME Group Tour Championship
The 2025 LPGA Tour will finish with Sunday's final round at the CME Group Tour Championship.
While ESPN+ will stream featured groups throughout the four-day tournament, the first three rounds will air live on the Golf Channel before Sunday's finale shifts to NBC and Peacock.
The LPGA is bringing star power to Florida this week, as a wealth of women's golf talent — and one basketball superstar — tee off at the 2025 edition of The ANNIKA.
Kicking off the event on Wednesday was the annual Pro-Am, with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark headlining the field for the second straight year.
World No. 2 golfer Nelly Korda once again joined Clark through her first nine holes, as Fever teammates Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull served as guest caddies.
The four-day professional tournament will then tee off on Thursday, though current world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul will not be in attendance for the second year in a row.
Korda, however, will lead the charge to both defend her 2024 title and secure her first win of the 2025 LPGA season — as well as add to her full trio of trophies collected at The ANNIKA.
Four other Top-10 players will look to upend Korda's back-to-back bid, including No. 3 Miyu Yamashita, No. 6 Charley Hull, No. 9 Mao Saigo, and No. 10 Lottie Woad.
With the 2025 CMA Group Tour Championship capping the LPGA season later this month, The ANNIKA will also see golfers on the bubble — like US stars Rose Zhang and 2023 champion Lilia Vu — try to snag enough points to make the end-of-year tournament's final 60-player cut.
How to watch The ANNIKA 2025 LPGA tournament
Coverage of the fifth edition of The ANNIKA continues through Sunday, airing live on the Golf Channel.
English golf star Charley Hull won her first LPGA title since 2022 this weekend, with the world No. 5 overcoming multiple health issues to take the 2025 Kroger Queen City Championship just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sunday.
"I'm actually a bit injured at the minute," Hull said after edging out No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul by one stroke to lift the trophy. "I tore the ligament completely in half on my foot in a car park the week after the British Open."
"When I fell down, when I did my ankle, I got the MRI, and I've got some cysts growing [in my back] from where I tore the muscle, but I've got a very healthy spine," the 29-year-old continued. "It's just managing it and stuff. I think I've been slapped with every injury at the minute."
Sunday's win marks Hull's third career LPGA title, with her latest trophy joining her hardware from the 2022 Volunteers of America Classic and the 2016 CME Group Tour Championship.
"It feels good," said Hull following her Queen City Championship win. "I feel like now I know I can do it. It's been a bit of a drought. I've had quite a few second-place finishes, and it's just always been the bridesmaid, and now I'm the bride finally."
Notably, Hull's victory furthered a hyper-competitive 2025 LPGA season, as the sport's growing parity has produced a list of 25 tournament winners without a single repeat champion all year thus far.
The LPGA Tour is taking over New England, as the second iteration of the FM Championship tees off from Norton, Massachusetts, on Thursday.
The four-day tournament will feature 35 of the world's Top 40-ranked players, all shooting for a piece of the $4.1 million total purse — the 2025 LPGA Tour's largest non-major payday.
Big names in search of a bounce-back performance headline the field, led by former No. 1 Nelly Korda, with the now-No. 2 US star still in pursuit of her first win of the 2025 season.
"Some of my stats are maybe better than even last year — it's just crazy," Korda said last week, commenting on her recent struggles. "That's just golf. By this time last year, I had six wins under my belt and [now] my stats are better, and I have zero wins."
Newly minted No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul will also make an appearance, as will 2024 FM Championship winner No. 10 Haeran Ryu.
Rookie phenom Lottie Woad is also in the mix, with the No. 18 English golfer determined to reclaim her winnings ways and shake off a missed cut at last week's 2025 CPKC Women's Open.
How to watch LPGA stars at the FM Championship
The 2025 FM Championship tees off at 7 AM ET on Thursday, and coverage of the four-day competition will air daily at 3 PM ET on the Golf Channel.
An historic 2024 LPGA season minted US star Nelly Korda as the world's No. 1 golfer, but a 36th-place tie at last weekend's 2025 AIG Women's Open saw the 27-year-old slip into the No. 2 spot on Monday.
While the US standout logged an astounding seven wins on the 2024 Tour, she has yet to win a 2025 LPGA event, allowing Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul to overtake her and snag the top world ranking.
Though her run is over, Korda's 71 straight weeks at the top is still impressive, clocking in as the fifth-longest streak in rankings history and adding to her career cumulative total of 108 weeks at No. 1.
Still hunting a first 2025 trophy, the new No. 2 has claimed four Top-5 tournament performances so far this season, including a runner-up finish at the US Women's Open in June.
Even more, Korda is stacking up a career-best run by making the cut in all of her 13 events this season.
As for the new No. 1, Thitikul spent two weeks at the top in her 2022 rookie season before beginning her second rankings reign on Monday, buoyed by the Thai star's seven Top-5 finishes in 14 starts this season.
The 2025 Tour has seen the 22-year-old claim her fifth career LPGA trophy at the Americas Open in May, settle for second place after a playoff round at last month's Evian Championship, and finish as runner-up at the HSBC Women's World Championship in February.
Notably, the LPGA is in the midst of the most parity-fueled year on record, as each of the 21 events on the 2025 Tour so far has crowned a different winner, including five new rookie champions — the most overall title-winners to begin a season in the governing body's 75-year history.
Amid her historic summer on the links, English amateur and rising Florida State senior Charlotte "Lottie" Woad is officially turning pro, accepting LPGA membership two days after nearly topping the 2025 Evian Championship leaderboard.
One week after becoming the first amateur to win a European Tour tournament since 2022 — with the 21-year-old taking the 2025 Irish Open title by a massive six-stroke margin — Woad came within one stroke of becoming the first amateur to win an LPGA major in 58 years.
Sunday's finale saw world No. 25 Grace Kim emerge as the 2025 Evian Champion, with the Australian taking the title following a playoff with Thailand's No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul.
Both Kim and Thitikul finished the tournament at 14-under-par, while Woad trailed a single stroke behind to tie 2021 Evian winner and Australia's No. 5 Minjee Lee for third-place in the LPGA Grand Slam.
Unlike Lee, who banked $547,200 for her efforts, Woad's amateur status means she had to forgo what would have been her share of the $8 million purse.
"I did have a look after and was like, 'oh no,'" joked Woad about Lee's check.
Woad to make pro debut next week
That all changes now, though, as Woad's finish made her the first player eligible to join the LPGA through the governing body's new lite Amateur Pathway (LEAP) program, in which top young golfers amass points to earn pro membership.
While the world's highest-ranking amateur initially said she would take the week to weigh turning pro with returning to Florida State for her final NCAA year, Woad made her decision to turn pro Tuesday morning.
In addition to accepting the LPGA membership, she will also join the European Tour in 2026 — an invite Woad earned with her Irish Open win.
"I have only reached this point in my career through the help and support that I've received from so many people and organisations over many years," Woad wrote in an Instagram post thanking her family and coaches. "I am very excited about this next chapter."
Woad's next chapter is imminent, as the world No. 64 announced her professional debut at the 2025 Scottish Open next week.
The field of established golf pros are already on notice, with Sweden's No. 30 Madelene Sagström warning that "[Woad is] going to take European and American golf by storm very soon."
The LPGA Tour has turned its attention to Texas, with the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship — the third major of the pro golf season — teeing off in Frisco to a flurry of first-round action on Thursday.
All of the sport's Top 100 athletes are participating in this week's event, including No. 1 Nelly Korda, who sits in a 14th-place tie with an even-par first-round performance, and surging US dark horse No. 50 Lexi Thompson, who tied for 10th in her Thursday return from a brief retirement.
However, leading the pack heading into Friday's second round is Thailand's world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, who finished the first day of competition atop the leaderboard with a score of 4-under-par.
Australia's No. 24 Minjee Lee also posted a strong start, capping Thursday at 3-under to sit in second place.
While the sport's best chase victory on the links, the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship is already making history off the green.
Not only is it the first-ever women's major to tee off at Frisco's Fields Ranch East, the tournament also increased its purse to $12 million on Tuesday — nearly tripling the $4.5 million prize pool from just four years ago and tying the US Women's Open for the LPGA Tour's highest payout in the process.
How to watch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
The third LPGA Grand Slam of 2025 continues through Sunday.
Friday's second round will air live on the Golf Channel, while coverage of Saturday and Sunday's final rounds will air across NBC and Peacock.
The LPGA Tour's largest purse is back on the line, as the 2025 US Women's Open hits the links at Wisconsin's Erin Hills Golf Course on Thursday.
The oldest of the Tour's five major championships, the US Women's Open is now in its 80th year.
In partnership with tournament sponsor Ally, the event's $12 million overall prize money makes it the most lucrative competition in women's golf, with a $2.4 million check going to the eventual winner.
World No. 35 Yuka Saso of Japan, the 2021 and 2024 US Women's Open champion, is back to defend her title alongside eight other former tournament winners, including 2023 victor and current No. 38 Allisen Corpuz (USA) and 2022 champ No. 22 Minjee Lee (Australia).
Also vying for this year's trophy are all 12 2025 LPGA Tour victors, headlined by world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand) and No. 3 Lydia Ko (New Zealand), as well as the two title-winners from the US — No. 11 Angel Yin and No. 18 Yealimi Noh.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda leads 24 of the sport's Top 25 players on the 2025 US Women's Open course, as the US star still searches for her first victory of the season.
How to watch the US Women's Open
The US Women's Open tees off at 6:45 AM ET on Thursday, with coverage of the LPGA major kicking off at 12 PM ET across USA Network and Peacock.
Sunday's championship-winning final round will air live beginnning at 2 PM ET on NBC.