US Open 2021: 18-year-old Emma Raducanu set to be best-paid British sportswoman after US Open exploits – Emma Raducanu has taken the tennis world by storm as she made it to her maiden Grand Slam final at the Flushing Meadows. The 18-year-old British sensation is yet to drop a set in the tournament, becoming the first qualifier to play a Grand Slam final. Her meteoric rise on the field has been thrilling, to say the least, but the 18-year-old will rake many more benefits of it as she is on the way to become the highest-paid British sportswoman.
As per a report by BBC, Emma Raducanu’s rise to stardom could see her become the highest-paid Britishsportswoman, irrespective of whether she trumps in the final or not. Emma Raducanu will earn $1.2m (£864,810) for reaching the final, which is four times the $303,000 which is believed to be her career earnings. Experts believe that there is a great scope for more, considering her age and her massive potential.
The point that changed @EmmaRaducanu‘s life. pic.twitter.com/k65yVd7xMo
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2021
The report quotes Nigel Currie, a sponsorship and marketing consultant, who believes with Serena Williams at the fag end of her career, Raducanu’s rise is most opportune. Currie said, “She’s a marketing dream, really, so the advertisers and sponsors will be queuing up.” While Raducanu already has deals with Nike and Wilson, her extensions will see a massive bump after her US Open heroics, and Adidas and Nike will be “fighting over” for her. Emma Raducanu’s fame in fashion is also rocketing, with a feature in October’s Vogue issue.
Raducanu is currently managed by Max Eisenbud, who has previously managed former world number one Maria Sharapova. Now retired, Sharapova was the world’s highest-paid female athlete for 11 years running. Simon Chadwick from the Emlyon Business School told BBC 5 live that there is “definitely a space for Emma” when compared with other female tennis stars like Naomi Osaka, given her age and her growing profile. Osaka is the world’s highest-paid female athlete at the moment, overtaking Serena Williams in May 2020. Following Osaka’s back-to-back Grand Slam titles in 2018 and 2019, Nike paid about $10m (£7.2m) to take her from Adidas and she now has a total of 15 company sponsors.
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