How Serena Williams maintained her place among the world's highest-paid female athletes of the year despite just $300,000 in on-court earnings

In a year that saw Serena Williams win just three singles matches on tour, the American tennis legend still ended up as the second-highest-paid female athlete in the world.

The 2022 season quite clearly showed that despite her absence for the majority of the year before her eventual "evolution" away from tennis, Williams remains among the most sought-after players in the world, be it for fans or those interested in tennis from a financial standpoint. Williams ranked behind only fellow tennis superstar Naomi Osaka in the recently-released list of the world's highest-paid female athletes.

The details, released by Forbes, revealed that the American great bagged 2nd place with total earnings worth $41.3 million. Of those, Williams earned only $300,000 from a mere five victories throughout her 2022 season, which means that she bagged an astonishing $41 million in total off-court earnings including endorsements and business investments.

While Williams officially retired in August this year with a farewell at the US Open, the writing seemed to be on the wall for her well in advance, given her long absence since mid-2021. However, she continued to earn incredible figures off the court, with very little doubt about the attractiveness of 'Serena Williams - the brand' to potential sponsors.

Through 2022, Williams' retained sponsors include some of the world's leading brands such as Nike, Wilson, Gucci, Nintendo, Audemars Piguet, Beats, Nintendo, and Gatorade. Williams is also the face of multiple brands under her name, including fashion brand 'S by Serena' and jewelry brand 'Serena Williams Jewelry.'

Williams also recently announced the launch of a new lifestyle brand, Will Perform, with a product line focusing on helping athletes through recovery essentials for pain relief and muscle care.

Serena Ventures - Serena Williams' venture capital firm that has been monumental to her off-court financial success

Serena Williams speaks during a business conference.

Serena Williams founded the venture capital firm 'Serena Ventures' with a larger aim of providing opportunities to underrepresented businesses and entrepreneurs, particularly women and people of color. A majority of the companies currently supported by the VC firm are indeed run by women and people of color. Serena Ventures is now believed to have as many as 70 startups on its roster, and the company's growth has played a huge role in Williams' financial success.

Some of the investments made by Serena Ventures are in companies such as Numida, Calico, Foody, Stears, Halp, and Boss Beauties.

As she announced her retirement a few weeks before the 2022 US Open, Williams also expressed her willingness to spend more time and focus on Serena Ventures.

"In my own life, the balance has been slowly shifting toward Serena Ventures...Every morning, I’m so excited to walk downstairs to my office and jump onto Zooms and start reviewing decks of companies we’re considering investing in," Williams wrote in an article for Vogue.

While her brand endorsement firepower continues, Serena Ventures is where the power of 'brand Serena Williams' truly seems to lie going forward.