Emma Raducanu’s astonishing U.S. Open triumph could lead to a pot of gold worth around £20-million (US$27.7-million) over the next two years and that may be just the start, according to sports-marketing experts.
The 18-year-old Briton was almost unheard of before reaching the fourth round at this year’s Wimbledon, having earned around US$40,000 since her senior debut three years ago.
After becoming Britain’s first female Grand Slam champion for 44 years and the new golden girl of women’s tennis, Raducanu’s earning potential is set to enter the stratosphere.
The US$2.5-million she picked up in prize money for beating fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez in a final that captivated the sporting world may soon seem like loose change.
Raducanu’s mixed Romanian-Chinese heritage, a stunning game and engaging personality make her “brand gold” according to one sports-marketing expert.
She is already a cover girl for British Vogue’s October edition and major global brands in everything from fashion to cars and jewellery will be queuing at the doors of IMG, her management company.
“There is no limit in what she can achieve on the court,” Tim Lopez, director at sports-marketing firm CSM, said on Monday.
“She’s hugely in demand already but to follow that up with continued success in the majors in tennis will see her rapidly become one of the most marketable athletes on the planet.”
With its global reach and equal exposure, tennis offers a road to riches for top female players with Japan’s Naomi Osaka earning US$55-million, not including prize money, in the past year, according to Forbes magazine.
Of the world’s 10 highest-paid sportswomen, nine are tennis players.
Lopez says Raducanu, whose mother Renee is Chinese, shares the same marketing appeal as four-times Grand Slam champion Osaka whose mother is Japanese and father is Haitian.
“If you use that as a yardstick not just because of their career trajectory but also their shared appeal and that they are both engaging and from mixed heritage backgrounds,” he said.
“That’s a huge benefit from a brand perspective, from an eyeballs point of view there is no bigger market to tap into.”
Raducanu’s rise from obscurity to having her face plastered on Times Square billboards will have the sports clothing brands vying for her signature. After Osaka won back-to-back Grand Slam titles in 2018 and 2019, Nike reportedly paid US$10-million to take her from rivals Adidas.
Raducanu’s appeal goes beyond the court, according to Conrad Wiacek, head of sport analysis at GlobalData.
“Her victory takes her way beyond tennis and sport in terms of marketability,” he said.
“One of the most impressive things for me was her message in Mandarin for the Chinese audience because the major issue western sports stars have in breaking China is the language barrier.
“The sky is the limit as any western brand positioning itself in China would be looking at her as an ambassador.”
Wiacek expects Raducanu’s Nike sponsorship deal to be raised significantly and other endorsements will earn her about US$10-million over the next two years.
“With her Chinese and eastern Europe heritage as well as Britain, that puts her in a different stratosphere to other athletes,” he said. “I’ve seen it being thrown around that she’s a potential billion dollar athlete. That’s a long way away.
“That’s based on consistency but just on the next 12 months I would say [US]$5-million would be a realistic number. Ultimately the barometer for how commercially successful she will be will depend on how successful she is on the tennis court.”
Raducanu is represented by superagent Max Eisenbud, who helped turn Russian Maria Sharapova into the highest-earning female athlete after she won Wimbledon aged 18, with off-court career earnings of around US$320-million.
However, the pitfalls in professional tennis are numerous with Osaka, another IMG athlete, struggling to cope with the sudden fame and fortune.
Lopez says striking the right balance between on-court and off-court activities will be a key factor in Raducanu achieving her full potential.
“People need to give the girl a chance to consolidate what she’s done and not to heap too much pressure on too soon,” he said.
“Focus on the mental well-being, then the sporting wellbeing and the financial rewards will certainly follow.”
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
