Kim Yu-na No. 6 on Forbes rich list of female athletes

Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na has earned the sixth most among female athletes in the world in the past year.

The Internet edition of Forbes business magazine on Tuesday ranked Kim as sixth on the list of the world’s best-paid female athletes between June 2012 and June this year.

Forbes estimated Kim’s yearly earnings at $14 million.

Russia’s Maria Sharapova topped the list, earning a total of $29 million.

Tennis took the top four positions. World No. 1 Serena Williams of the United States took second with $20.5 million, followed by China’s Li Na in third with $18.2 million and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in fourth with $15.7 million.

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark was seventh with $13.6 million, followed by Agnieszka Rdwanska of Poland with $7.4 million and Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic with $7 million.

U.S. NASCAR driver Danica Patrick placed fifth with $15 million and American golfer Paula Creamer 10th with $5.5 million. Along with Kim, the three were the only non-tennis stars in the top 10.

Kim took a year off from competing but returned last winter to capture her second World Championship in February. Kim is the headline act in the figure skating show “All That Skate” and is a staple on TV in South Korea thanks to commercials for her dozen sponsors including Samsung Electronics, Korean Air and KB Financial.

Kim is expected to be one of the leading stars at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)