As curtains are set to draw down on the 2024 year, it is time to reflect on the achievements of the players on and off the court. With women’s sports growing massively, it has been a fantastic year for female athletes, who have left no stone unturned in their efforts. Forbes recently released the list of the highest-earning sportswomen of the 2024 season. While tennis stars dominated the list, there were some surprising entrants in the top 10, including the American legend, Venus Williams.

The 44-year-old has played just two tournaments this year and lost in the first rounds of both events. Additionally, she was absent from the Grand Slam tournaments and didn’t feature at the US Open. Despite her on-court absence, the elder Williams sister didn’t disappoint off the court and she even overtook Simone Biles in the Forbes list of highest-earning sportswomen this year.

Williams earned $12.1 Million this year and barring 0.1 Million, all her earnings came from off-court activities. The American legend has several endorsement deals in her kitty and she is one of the most marketable athletes even today. While Williams earns a lot as a public speaker, she is an ambassador for various brands and is also an entrepreneur.

On the contrary, Biles is placed in the 10th spot, a rung below Williams in the Forbes list. She earned $11.2 Million in 2024, with $11 Million coming from her off-field activities. Unlike Williams, Biles was active this year and made several appearances at the Gymnastics tournaments. The Forbes list is topped by the American sensation, Coco Gauff, who made a whopping $34.4 Million this year.

Coming back to Venus though, despite being a Millionaire, she spends her money wisely. She once revealed precious financial advice for her fans.

Owing a house has become a massive trend in America. People give up their life-long savings in order to own a property. However, Venus Williams has a contrary opinion when it comes to owning a property.

Talking about those who feel that owning a house is an American dream, she revealed, “I don’t think owning your house is the American dream. You should own the house once you’ve done everything else. Once you’ve invested your money, once it’s working for you, then maybe buy the house. Instead of putting that $100,000, $200,000 on that down payment, should you just rent a place and invest that money? You should compare the returns.”

Traditionally speaking, owning a house has been considered a financial success. As per one of the surveys, 78% of Americans considered owning a house to be very important. Despite the advantages of owning a house, renting a property is, however, less expensive for a starter. Thus, Williams feels that the priorities should shift as per the economic trends. What are your thoughts on it?

Simone Biles is undeniably one of the greatest ever to grace the sport of gymnastics. She has proven this time and time again with her incredible talent on the mat. However, there has remained a very debatable blemish in her career after the Tokyo Olympics. The gymnast had to withdraw from some of the competitions because she was suffering from ‘Twisties’.

This has been used as an opportunity by those who dislike the gymnast to troll her, with some even going as far as saying that Simone Biles turned her back on her team. However, many fans have stood up for the Olympic gold medalist and defended her against harsh trolling. The support also came from the sports fraternity, as many athletes backed her decision to withdraw and took a stand for her in the face of trolling. Now, it seems a tennis legend has been added to that list. But the truth is she has always been part of ‘the list.’

Simone Biles finds an ally in Tennis icon

On December 21st, Martina Navratilova had to defend Simone Biles from a troll on X who said that the gymnast was praised for her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics, despite her apparent betrayal of her team. “Funny that everyone said Simone Biles was stunning and brave when she refused to compete, quit, and let down her team for no apparent reason,” said a user. This did not sit right with the tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who most likely understood Simone Biles’ plight much more as a sportsperson herself and thus ended up defending her. She went on to explain the condition the gymnast was suffering from.

Martina said, “Simone stopped in Tokyo for a very good reason—she lost herself in the air and couldn’t find the floor. Would you prefer she stayed on the team, brought the scores down, and perhaps got a broken neck along the way? What a ridiculous thing to say.” Thus, the tennis player defended Simone from the trolling. This is not the first time Navratilova has shown support to Simone Biles. In fact, right after her withdrawal,

Other athletes who have shown support to Simone Biles

When Simone Biles withdrew from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics because of her ‘Twisties’, which may have emerged from her mental health at that time, many saw it as an unprecedented positive move for the sport. It was a move that could help set up a much safer place for athletes in the future. This is why, while some of the outside world trolled her, many athletes praised her decision.

Track and field legend Usain Bolt was one of them. He claimed that he was extremely happy with the gymnast’s decision to withdraw, saying, “Personally, I really appreciate Simone Biles for pushing off the Olympics. It’s always good to take care of yourself first, and then everything will fall into place. So I’m very happy that she understood that. I have to take care of myself first, and then we’ll see what happens down the road.”

Bolt also showed support for the gymnast in 2024 when he backed her to win a medal. Swimming legend Michael Phelps also supported the gymnast’s decision at that time and claimed that he hoped that it would open conversations about mental health in the future. “I hope this is an eye-opening experience, an opportunity for us to jump on board and blow this mental health thing even more wide open,” Phelps said. “It is so much bigger than we could ever imagine.”

The list doesn’t end there, as Simone Biles’ own teammate Jordan Chiles also defended her from the trolling, saying that nobody has more self-awareness than the gymnast herself. “She’s Simone for a reason,” Chiles declared, “and if she puts her mind to something… She’s not a quitter. You will never see Simone just go out there and not do what she knows she could do.” Thus, despite the trolling, Simone still has people in the community who support her, and she deserves all of it!

Suffering Pregnancy Horrors, Simone Biles’ Sister-In-Law Makes Bittersweet Confession

Christmas in Simone Biles’ family has just gotten bigger. After being overjoyed at the exceptional Paris outing of the gymnastics GOAT, another bit of good news has been shared by the Biles family. In a recent update, Biles’ brother stated that his wife, Sammi Biles, was pregnant with a baby boy. Now then, their first child, Ronni Biles, has been quite a hit in the gymnastics community. Sharing a very close bond with Simone herself, Baby Biles has been quite a hit among the fans. But the latest news meant that Ronnie will now not be the youngest in the Biles family. She will soon be joined by the second child of Sammi and Ron Biles.

In a recent update, Sammi Biles took to her Instagram and broke the news of her second pregnancy. “GOD IS GOOD!!! I’m so grateful, blessed, and excited to share with everyone….WE’RE PREGNANT!!,” wrote Biles. She later did a gender reveal as well, citing that the baby was a boy. However, in the build-up to the good news, Sammi Biles had a major health update to drop. While she is in an advanced state of pregnancy, there have been some serious complications within her body. So much so, that it might just put the well-being of the baby at risk!

Simone Biles’ sister-in-law dealing with a health scare

In a somber update, Sammi Biles reflected on her present state of health on social media. Posting a story via ‘ivfbelieveinbabybiles’, Sammi detailed the entire situation. Posting a picture of herself sitting at the ER, Simone’s sister-in-law asked everybody to pray for her and her baby boy. In a concerning update, Sammi Biles was checked for a possible blood clot in her legs or in the chest.

She already had an EKG and a CT scan to further assess her physical health. Taking to Instagram, she wrote, “literally never a dull moment in life. ER is concerned I could have a blood clot in my leg and/or chest, I have elevated temperature, and tachycardia. Had an EKG and now having to have a CT scan which puts baby at risk of course but the risk of me not being ok outweighs anything at this point.” Sammi also mentioned that her tachycardia and temperature were elevated, which can become fatal for the baby.

Meanwhile, while the visit to the ER was not a pleasant outing for Sammi, things surely got a bit better with all the support pouring in. As soon as the news went out, fans from all over extended their mental support. This was pretty much comforting for Simone’s sister-in-law. Thanking the online community for their support, Sammi and her family appreciated them for their concerns.

Fortunately, the latest updates dropped by Sammi Biles have cleared the air significantly. Posting from the hospital, Sammi mentioned that while she did have an infection, both she and the baby are out of danger. She posted, “I’m alive & so is baby boy. I do have an infection and will need to be monitored for my HR &BP. no blood clot’s. gotta love being a geriatric pregnant lady. praying the remainder of pregnancy is uneventful & we both stay healthy as possible.” Well, this is not the first time Sammi Biles is going through a complicated pregnancy. In fact, Simone Biles’ sister-in-law Sammi has a gloomy history of miscarriages.

Sammi Biles’ complicated pregnancy revisited

Sammi Biles does not have the smoothest journey when it comes to motherhood. There have been multiple cases of Sammi Biles losing out on the possibility of bearing a child. Things went to such an extent that one of the cases was as advanced as the second trimester. In the past 4 years, there have been 3 instances of Sammi having a heartbreaking miscarriage before Ronni finally arrived.

Naturally, hoping for a child and getting pegged back so many times is not an easy pill to swallow. However, Sammi Biles’ willpower and grit have gotten the better of her. “I don’t understand why something is given only to be taken away? God does and I have to trust His plan for us and our family,” commented a gritty Sammi. And sure enough, her prayers were answered as Ronni Biles was born soon after. Now, with the demons of the past threatening to come back, the gymnastics world prays in unison hoping that little Ronni gets a brother to play with soon.

Simone Biles, lauded as the greatest gymnast of all time, will make a special appearance at next month’s home opener for the University of Georgia’s GymDogs gymnastics team.

Biles’ personal coach, Cécile Canqueteau-Landi, was hired as the team’s co-head coach in April. She coached the 27-year-old gold medalist to the Rio, Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games.