Saina Nehwal

For the Indian shuttler, currently ranked world number 10 in women's singles, 2019 was a lean year. Nehwal started the year strong, sealing a semi-final berth in the Malaysia Masters, followed by a win in the Indonesia Masters, when she got a walk over in the finals as opponent Carolina Marin bowed out with an injury. This was in January. In the next 14 global tournaments she contested during the year, Nehwal made it to the quarters only four times. She, however, beat PV Sindhu to retain her nationals title. Nehwal saw her earnings erode to an estimated Rs 3 crore in 2019 from about Rs 16.5 crore the year before.