In a New York Times article written by Claudia Rankine, Serena Williams addresses questions about the fact that she’s consistently out-earned by Maria Sharapova despite being the World’s No. 1 player and owning an 18-2 lifetime edge over the Russian.

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“If they want to market someone who is white and blond, that’s their choice,” Williams said. “I have a lot of partners who are very happy to work with me. I can’t sit here and say I should be higher on the list because I have won more. I’m happy for her, because she worked hard, too. There is enough at the table for everyone. We have to be thankful, and we also have to be positive about it so the next black person can be No. 1 on that list. Maybe it was not meant to be me. Maybe it’s meant to be the next person to be amazing, and I’m just opening the door. Zina Garrison, Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe and Venus opened so many doors for me. I’m just opening the next door for the next person.”

Forbes reported that Sharapova earned $23 million in endorsements in the 12-month period ending in June, while Williams’ earned $13 million.

The endorsement disparity between tennis players of differing levels and rankings is not all that uncommon. Novak Djokovic is the men’s No. 1 but Roger Federer out-earns him by $27 million in the endorsement category on Forbe’s list.