By James Waterson
Wozniacki, the World No. 1, came in at 10th in the list. This year, she won six titles, including Indian Wells, reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and the US Open and she posted a 63-17 record for the year.
She is also in a high profile relationship with top-ranked golfer Rory McIlroy, which has brought her even more attention.
Williams came in at No. 5. She was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism earlier this year, which caused her to miss a significant part of the season. But she came back just before Wimbledon and she won the Rogers Cup, in Stanford and she reached the US Open final, where she had a well-publicized dispute with the umpire.
Sharapova finished at fourth in the list. The Russian was the most searched for athlete on Yahoo! in 2005 and 2008. Although she didn’t have the Grand Slam success of years past, she won in Rome and she reached the Wimbledon final.
Forbes named Sharapova as the highest paid female athlete in the world with $25 million in prize money earnings and endorsements.
Manny Pacquiao, Tiger Woods and Danica Patrick finished above Sharapova, while Kobe Bryant, Kris Humphries and Hope Solo also made the list.