Serena Now Richest Female Athlete Ever

With the retirement of Annika Sorenstam, this was inevitable, as long as, say, Serena Williams didn't want to start writing for GQ or start her own puppy clothing line.

Williams, who absolutely erupted through the Australian Open, winning the finals match 6-0, 6-3 against Dinara Safina, became the all-time career money leader in all of women's sports.

By just making it to the finals in Melbourne, Serena found herself ahead of both Lindsay Davenport for most ever in women's tennis and Sorenstam for the overall lead, cashing in at $22,753,575.

"I'm thrilled with the news! I remember earning my first check of $240 at Québec City in 1995 and while I knew that I could have a great career in tennis, I could not have imagined or dreamed of all of this," Williams said.

A lot of that prize money has to be attributed to both Serena and Venus Williams, who brought in an entirely different audience when they burst on the scene with their braided hair. Like Tiger Woods did for golf, the Williams sisters have made tennis a cool sport for African-Americans, especially younger ladies who might not have had a lot of interest in the sport before these two showed everyone how it was done.

While Serena sits atop this list for now, the longevity of female golfers as opposed to tennis players will probably put someone like Paula Creamer, Lorena Ochoa or even Michelle Wie ahead of her when their respective careers conclude, but for now Serena is queen of not just tennis, but all the games we enjoy watching.

A pretty cool accomplishment for someone who remembers making $240 in this same sport 14 years ago.