According to foreign media reports, in just a few days, Emma Raducanu, an 18-year-old Chinese girl in The United Kingdom, has made headlines in the global media.
Emma Raducannu. Graph network
In the latest-concluded 2021 U.S. Open, the rising tennis star made a fantastic debut, becoming the youngest Grand Slam title since Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004 at the age of 17. At the same time, she also became the first person to go from the qualifiers to the grand slam in the Open era.
Through this competition, Raducano earned about $2.5 million in prize money. In addition, she is rumored to receive a sponsorship of over £25 million. Foreign media predict that she is expected to beat Naomi Osaka and even go to the next level, becoming the first "$1 billion actress" in the sports world.
From qualifying tournaments to Grand Slam summits
The Chinese girl became a hit
Emma Raducannu is a mixed-Race Chinese and Romanian child, born in Canada, who came to England with her parents at the age of two. After winning the US Open, Emma released Chinese video to thank everyone for their support. She told the media that she often returned to her grandmother's house in Shenyang, China, and even trained at the sports academy in her mother's hometown of Shenyang, and that Li Na, a famous Chinese tennis player, was one of her idols.
Group photo of Emma Raducano with her family. Graph network
A few months ago, Emma, who played in a Grand Slam for the first time with a wild card, wowed Wimbledon, and then won her first Grand Slam title in her US Open debut, becoming the first women's singles Grand Slam champion in the UK in 44 years. To this end, Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Prince William and his wife all congratulated the new tennis star. She will also be awarded the Order of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen.
In fact, as early as September 7, Emma landed on vogue's UK website, becoming an "ambassador" in its October issue. At present, Emma has signed an agency giant IMG, managed by Chinese tennis superstar Li Na and Russian tennis superstar Sharapova's former agent Max Eisenbud. For 11 consecutive years, Sharapova topped for "Forbes' World's Highest Paid Female Athlete." Emma has this gold agent, which is undoubtedly a great addition.
Emma on Vogue's UK version. Graph network
According to industry analysts, Emma chose the "right sport" because it is the sport with the most substantial income for female athletes - tennis players almost dominate the ranking of women's wealth in sports. According to Forbes, the 9 highest-paid female athletes in the world are all tennis players. Soon after entering the tennis world, Emma already had Nike's shoe and clothing contracts, as well as contracts with American sports brand Wilson (Wilson). After the US Open Grand Slam, her "money" will be "unlimited".
Alison Stewart-Allen, an associate researcher at The University of Oxford's Side Business School and CEO of International Marketing Partners, analyzed that Emma is a "dream" for a marketer, and "the bidding war began today." ”
Have a "unique" appeal to the brand
Expected to become the first "$1 billion actress" in sports
According to Forbes, tennis player Naomi Osaka is the highest-paid female athlete of all time. Now, foreign media predict that Emma will be expected to beat her and even go to the next level. According to the analysis, Emma has a kind of "uniqueness" for the brand, and now that the career of Golden Slam winner Serena Williams is nearing the end, Emma's debut timing can be called "perfect".
"I think Emma is going to win hundreds of millions of dollars next year and she's going to overshadow all men." Jonathan Shalit, chairman of intertalent group, a brokerage firm, believes that the world's largest brands will "knock on Emma's door," bringing her coveted endorsement opportunities in various fields such as fashion, jewelry, makeup, skin care and hairdressing.
Emma's blockbuster for the UK version of Vogue. Graph network
Sulit predicted that if Emma can win Wimbledon next year and continue to win the title for the next 5 to 10 years, she will become "the world's first $1 billion actress in sports". In this way, she will become one of the world's superstar athletes along with basketball legend Jordan, golf star Tiger Woods and tennis giant Federer.
This year, Federer became the sixth athlete in the world to earn $1 billion in professional income and the seventh in sports. According to Forbes last month, in the past 12 months, Federer has earned $90.6 million from matches and endorsements alone, making him the highest-paid player in the tennis world. Naomi Osaka, a 23-year-old Japanese tennis player, came in second with $60.1 million. In third place is American tennis player Serena Williams, who earns $41.8 million.
Naomi Osaka has raised $60.1 million in the past 12 months, ranking second among the "top ten highest-paid players in tennis" in the world. Graph network
Tennis players actually get a lot of money from outside the court. Whether it's Federer, Naomi Osaka or Serena Williams, their income from commercial endorsements dwarfs the amount of prize money won on the pitch. For Emma, too, it will be the same.
However, Simon Chadwick, a professor of Eurasian sports industry at the Lyon Business School in France, also pointed out that the forecast of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue based on a single victory is still a bit too much. Emma's victory at the US Open was a "great start", but she still needs to continue to win before she can enter the "big money club". And, for female athletes, the task is a little tougher, as they usually earn less than male athletes.
Emma Raducannu, who previously played at Wimbledon. Graph network
Professor Chadwick believes that Emma can speak fluently Chinese, which can attract Chinese brands that want to enter overseas markets, or those who want to increase brand awareness in China. But Emma first catches up with Naomi Osaka, who clearly has a "starting edge." Naomi Osaka, who is also of mixed race, has a variety of distinctive characteristics in her personal brand, and she has a corresponding relevance from the "black life is also life" movement in the United States to the Olympic torch relay in Tokyo.
Red Star News reporter Lin Rong
Edited by Li Binbin
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