PV Sindhu 7th highest paid female athlete in the world: Forbes

PV Sindhu broke into the top 10 paid female athletes lost in the world, according to an annual list published by Forbes on Tuesday.

Sindhu, at 7th, is the only Indian female athlete in the top 10 list, that is predominantly dominant by tennis players.

Sindhu's stock has only gone north both on and off the field after her sensational show at the Rio Games in Brazil in 2016. Sindhu bagged silver in badminton at the 2016 Summer Games and since then, she one would say has been the face of Indian badminton.

Sindhu earns USD 8.5 million per-year according ti the annual list published by Forbes. Other than her, retired race car driver Danica Patrick (USD 7.5 million) is the only non-tennis player in the top 10 list that is lead by Serena Williams for thr third consecutive year. Patrick is ninth in the list.

Williams, who returned to competition in March after giving birth last September, earned USD 62,000 in winnings over the past year but received USD 18.1 million from an endorsement portfolio unmatched among women in sports, Forbes said.

Williams, who will try to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam titles when she competes at the August 27-September 9 U.S. Open in New York, earned twice as much off the court as any other female athlete, according to Forbes.

Dane Caroline Wozniacki, who captured her maiden grand slam title at this year's Australian Open, was second on the list with combined earnings of ($13 million) while reigning U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens (USD 11.2 million) was third.

Spaniard Garbine Muguruza ($11 million) and Russian Maria Sharapova (USD 10.5 million) rounded out the top five.

In June, Forbes issued a ranking of the world's 100 highest-paid athletes and it did not feature a woman.

Williams, who was the only woman on the list the previous year, dropped out of the chart while taking time off to have a baby.

(With inputs from Reuters)