Maria Sharapova Gets Just 10% of her earnings from Tennis Prize Money

Following from Cheryl's article, I was on the lookout for more articles on being financially savvy. Just nice, this article appeared in the Business Times today.

Maria Sharapova?  I now know that she is the highest paid female athlete in the world, a distinction that Forbes has bestowed on her for 10 years straight.  Wow.

Indeed.  Based on her looks alone, she would likely have made a good living as a model.  Her looks plus being a top tennis champion would make her a killer combination, but only if she was wise enough to exploit it.  And she definitely is.

So let's see how she has capitalized on her tennis fame and good looks.  The answer is simple - endorsements.  She has endorsed a huge range of prestigious global brands, including Nike, Tag Hauer and Porsche.  Her profile fits these brands, as she is a tennis star and she can look pretty classy and even aloof.

She can be a tough ice queen.

Remember that many top athletes are full of themselves, including being arrogant, temperamental and sometimes outright idiotic. To me, such behaviours reflect a poor sense of self control.

Maria, however, has chosen to behave far more professionally when she is off the court. She looks friendly, she does many engagements, she mingles with the crowds - obviously this does great wonders for her image and makes her even more attractive to potential sponsors.

What is really interesting is trying to launch Sugarpova, which looks like high-end tennis-ball candy/chewing gum. Even the name of the product sounds rather 'corny', as it is a twist of Sharapova.

But why not?  She is clearly not afraid to try and I don't think she has much to lose even if this venture fails.  On the other hand, if it succeeds, it would certainly make her even richer.

Come, try some Sugarpova - the Taste of Victory

What Can We Learn?
I am not a tennis star.  Neither do I have good looks.  So what can I learn from Sharapova?

The answer to the question is to ask why Sharapova is able to do so much better, relative to the other good-looking and highly talented female athletes in the world.

My take is that she has a solid game plan.  She has fully capitalized on her tennis fame and her good looks, to land endorsements with prestigious brands.  And now she is branching out into product lines, and likely into other business ventures.  Bear in mind, as she does all the business, she needs to keep up her tennis training and continue to do very well in international tournaments.  Her value as an endorsement icon would quickly fade away if she starts to slip in the tennis rankings.

Her candy, Sugarpova, called Flirty Sour

What can we learn from this? We all need a plan and this plan needs to capitalize on your strengths. Success doesn't come easy, but we need to keep trying, and focus on our strengths.  What are your strengths and how have you capitalized on them?

Don't be afraid to try new things.  You never know till you try.

Here is the full article.

Thanks for reading.