NAOMI OSAKA has pipped US rival Serena Williams as the highest-paid sportswomen ever.
The 22-year-old hotshot raked in an eye-watering £30.7m in prize money and endorsements over the past year.
As reported by Forbes, that is a whopping £1.15m more than earned by 38-year-old Williams who has held the top spot in the past four years.
Osaka made her name beating Williams in the US Open final to secure her first ever Grand Slam in one of the most controversial clashes in Open history.
Williams’s unacceptable meltdown – in which she accused umpire Carlos Ramos of sexism and being a “liar and a thief” – had overshadowed what should have been a crowning glory for Osaka at Flushing Meadows.
Three code violations were called against the American superstar who was absolutely seething with Ramos.
He had accused her of being illegally coached by her courtside box during her 6-2 6-4 defeat and he docked her a game for verbal abuse in the second set.
Williams was aiming for a record equalling 24th major, and said the official “owed her an apology” in astonishing scenes in New York as the crowd angrily booed the decisions that day.
But now Osaka has trumped her legendary foe once again, this time for raking in the most dough.
The Japanese tennis ace has set an all-time earnings record for a female athlete in a single year, smashing Maria Sharapova’s previous record of £24.4m in 2015.
Osaka sits in No. 29 among the 100 highest-paid athletes while Williams trails closely behind as No. 33.
It is the first time in four years that two women have made the ranks of the 100 highest-paid athletes, with the full 2020 list set to be released by Forbes next week.
Osaka finished the 2019 season by winning the Toray Pan Pacific and China Open, before having to withdraw from the WTA Finals due to a shoulder injury.
She also clinched the Australian Open in 2019 and became the first woman to win consecutive Grand Slam singles titles since Williams in 2015.
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