Tennis star Maria Sharapova, the world's richest sportswoman, has been named as Russia’s highest-earning celebrity for the fourth consecutive year by the Forbes magazine.
Sharapova's income is $22 million, according to Forbes, but her earnings are expected to drop sharply this year after sponsors such as Porsche and Tag Heuer ended their relationship with the five-time grand slam champion following her admission in March that she had tested positive for the banned substance meldonium.
The two-year ban from tennis she received last month will also see her miss out on tournament prize money which earned her more than $3 million in 2015. Sharapova is appealing the ban.
Russia’s 50 richest celebrities from the worlds of music, sport and cinema collectively earned $164 million in 2015-16, down from $174 million the year before.
The second-highest earner on the list is NHL ice hockey star Alexander Ovechkin with an income of $12 million, with Sergei Shnurov, lead singer of the Leningrad music group, in third place with $11 million.
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