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Aryna Sabalenka has been named the world’s most marketable athlete for 2026, according to SportsPro. It’s not been the year many would have expected for Sabalenka – for the first time since 2022, she did not lift a Major title, and she also relinquished her world No. 1 ranking to Elena Rybakina. The Belarusian has not even reached a final since completing the ‘Sunshine Double’ in March, lifting back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami. But she’s still winning off the court.
The four-time Grand Slam champion beat the likes of Erling Haaland, Charles Leclerc, and fellow tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev to top SportsPro’s annual list of the world’s most marketable athletes powered by NorthStar Solutions Group. She joins Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewis Hamilton, and other WTA stars Naomi Osaka and Genie Bouchard as previous athletes to be named the most marketable since the list began in 2010.
Sabalenka scored 80.95 out of a 100-point NorthStar ‘marketability score’, which is broken down into three pillars – brand equity, momentum, and commercial trajectory. Brand equity shows how “strong, trusted and far-reaching” an athlete’s brand is today. Sabalenka got 37.78 out of a possible 45.
The current world No. 2 also scored 29.88 out of 40 for momentum, based how quickly her value is growing right now, and 13.29 out of 15 for trajectory, how much room there still is for commercial growth.
Sabalenka joined the Evolve management agency ahead of the 2025 season. The organisation was co-founded by Naomi Osaka and her former longtime agent Stuart Duguid in 2022, but Osaka left the agency this year and returned to IMG.
Former world No. 1 Sabalenka has thrived with Evolve. Already a Nike and Wilson athlete, she also has partnerships with Gucci, Whoop, Stella Artois, Dobel Tequila, Emirates, Audemars Piguet, Shark, IM8, and Moroccan Oil. This year, she appeared in Vogue, Esquire and TIME Magazine.
Celebrating her title as the world’s most marketable athlete, Sabalenka and Evolve shared a joint Instagram post, rounding up her off-court deals and appearances.“The game knows her name. So does the world. @arynasabalenka is SportsPro’s 2026 Most Marketable Athlete in the World,” the caption read.
In a release, SportsPro said: “Sabalenka, 28, is a four-time Grand Slam champion who finished 2025 as the WTA Tour’s top-ranked player for the second consecutive season. She was estimated to have earned around US$30 million in 2025, split between tournament winnings and off-court income, including endorsement deals with global brands such as Nike, Wilson, Gucci, Emirates, Audemars Piguet, Whoop and Stella Artois.
“Sabalenka becomes the fourth woman and third tennis player to top SportsPro’s ranking since its debut back in 2010. Rounding out the top five in this year’s list are Olympic freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu, basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo, soccer star Erling Haaland, and tennis ace Carlos Alcaraz.”
Elsewhere in the top 50, soon-to-be world No. 1 Zverev ranked eighth, Iga Swiatek came in at No. 17, and Osaka at No. 21. Coco Gauff was named this year’s 32nd most marketable athlete, and Jannik Sinner was just a few spots below at 35th. Novak Djokovic ranked 46th.
And Sabalenka has a chance to finish the season on a high note, too. The world No. 2 will be competing at the WTA Finals, a season-ending event for the eight players who have earned the most ranking points in a single year. She’s already lifted three titles and banked £6,107,412 ($8,135,243) on the tennis court in 2026. Now she’s eyeing one more title, another prize cheque, and a shot at getting her No. 1 spot back.
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