Osaka tops Serena on Forbes list of sports annual earnings
Ashley Cooper, 4-time Grand Slam singles champion, dies at 83
BRISBANE, Australia – Ashley Cooper, who won four Grand Slam singles titles including the Australian, Wimbledon and U.S. championships in 1958, has died. He was 83.
Tennis Australia said Friday that the former No. 1-ranked player and longtime administrator had died after a long illness. Cooper led Australia’s Davis Cup team to victory over the United States to retain the title in 1957. But after the result was reversed in a loss to the Americans the following year he was so upset, according to Tennis Australia, that he considered withdrawing from a professional contract because he felt he owed the country more.
After a back injury ended his professional career in 1959, Cooper returned to Brisbane, Australia, to run a business and work as an administrator in the sport. He was involved in moving the state’s main tennis facility from Milton to Tennyson, where Pat Rafter Arena is now the venue for the annual Brisbane International.
Naomi Osaka has been a Grand Slam champion and No. 1 in the WTA rankings – and now she’s No. 1 on another list: top-earning female athlete.
According to a story posted on Forbes.com on Friday, the 22-year-old player earned $37.4 million over the past 12 months from endorsements and prize money, eclipsing Serena Williams in that span.
Forbes said Osaka’s total is a oneyear record for a female athlete, topping the previous mark of 29.7 million set by Maria Sharapova in 2015.
Osaka is No. 29 overall, with Williams at No. 33, on Forbes’ annual list of the 100 top-earning athletes.
Williams had led the way among women each of the past four years.
Osaka beat Williams in the 2018 U.S. Open final and then added the 2019 Australian Open title, allowing her to become the first player from Asia to be rated No. 1 in the women’s or men’s tennis rankings.
—Associated Press