Forbes

The 22-year-old twice Grand Slam champion's total is the most ever earned by a female athlete in a 12-month period.

She earned $1.4 million more than American great Williams, who topped the list for the last four years.

Maria Sharapova had held the record for 12-month earnings for a female athlete, having made US $29.7 million in 2015.

Female tennis players have always occupied top spot on Forbes' women's list since 1990, with either Williams or Russian Sharapova leading the way from 2004.

The 34-year-old's income of $56m (£45.7m) lands her below seventh-placed male actor Adam Sandler.

She earned $15.5m (£12.6m) more than she did in 2018, thanks largely to the success of Avengers: Endgame.

Modern family actor Sofia Vergara is the only other woman to break into the overall top 10.

Earlier this week, Dwayne Johnson was announced as the highest-paid actor of the last 12 months, making $89.4m (£73.6m) according to the latest annual rankings from the financial experts.

Forbes just released their annual list of the highest-paid acts in the musical genre, and for the second year in a row, Diddy comes out on top with a staggering $62 million in earnings over the past year. Trailing closely behind the rapper is none other than Jay Z, who managed to rake in $53.5 million in 2016 despite never having released an album. 

"The Hunger Games" star banked $46 million before taxes over 12 months, making her the highest-paid actress for the second year in a row.