British tennis darling Raducanu set for big bucks on and off court

The 18-year-old is forecast to earn up to £20m from endorsements, branding in next two years.

Sep 16, 2021

London

EMMA Raducanu, the new US Open champion and still two months shy of her 19th birthday, stands to reap up to £20 million (S$37.1 million) from endorsements and other branding and marketing partnerships in the next two years.

Before reaching the fourth round of this year's Wimbledon tournament in July, she had only amassed career earnings of about US$40,000 since turning professional in 2018. Her cash prize for winning her first Grand Slam title, the US Open last Saturday, was significantly larger - US$2.5 million.

But in order to achieve off-court earnings of US$100 million to US$200 million and beyond, sports and marketing analysts say Raducanu needs to become a consistent Grand Slam winner, which will enable her to move up the rankings (she is currently 23rd) and eventually reach the pinnacle of world No 1.

Raducanu's mixed heritage - her father is Romanian and mother is Chinese - coupled with her likeable personality and tennis talent, make her "brand gold", according to one sports marketing expert.

She's a cover girl for British Vogue's October edition, and her management company IMG is presumably already busy sorting out potential sponsorship deals in everything from sports equipment to fashion and even cars.

During the US Open final against fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez of Canada (who is also extremely marketable), Raducanu was seen sporting jewellery from Tiffany.

Rising star

There is talk that American sportswear giant Nike could raise the value of its existing sponsorship deal with Raducanu. After Japan's Naomi Osaka won back-to-back Grand Slam titles in 2018 and 2019, Nike reportedly paid US$10 million to lure her from rival Adidas.

A day after the US Open, Raducanu was invited to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Met Gala in New York, the most prestigious fashion event of the year.

Tennis and sports fans around the world are aware of Raducanu and eager to see more of her in the coming months and years. The viewership of the US Open final on Britain's Channel Four reached 9.2 million, way ahead of this year's Wimbledon final in July.

Queen Elizabeth watched the match and sent across a congratulatory letter, while former British No 1 Greg Rusedski predicted that Raducanu would be named the UK's sportsperson of the year for 2021.

Marketing experts say that besides tennis, Raducanu - who was born in Toronto and grew up in Bromley in South-east London - is not only pleasant and photogenic, but she has an enchanting "girl next door" feel.

She is fluent in Mandarin and spoke the language on a Chinese TV channel recently, illustrating her immense branding potential in one of the world's largest consumer markets.

The question is how her parents and tennis team will be able to keep Raducanu calm and collected from the relentless media, celebrity and commercial pressures during the lengthy grinding tennis season.

In July, when she was already an upcoming star at Wimbledon, she had to retire during her fourth round match due to breathing difficulties.

Excluding prize money from tennis, Osaka earned US$55 million in the past year, but because of her mental health, she decided not to accept media interviews and withdrew from this year's French Open. She also suffered early defeats at the Tokyo Olympics and US Open.

Big money

With Raducanu's big breakthrough at the US Open, there have been comparisons with another teen sensation - Maria Sharapova from Russia.

Now retired from the sport, Sharapova won Wimbledon at the tender age of 17 in 2004 and was once ranked the world's highest-earning female athlete with estimated off-court career earnings of around US$320 million. Even though she no longer plays, she is still highly coveted by many brands.

Raducanu is represented by super-agent Max Eisenbud of IMG, who was responsible for transforming Sharapova into a global megastar.