Very few WTA players have achieved name and fame as Maria Sharapova did so early in her career. While her tennis played a huge part, having won 5 Grand Slams in her career, it was also her stunning good looks that made her immediately marketable for brands and businesses. She continues to be the richest non-American women’s tennis player of all time. Sharapova always had that legacy, and it seems like she will continue to have it for at least another 10 years.
According to The SportsRush, Maria Sharapova has a net worth of $220 million. And although she hasn’t played tennis for quite some time now, she continues to find ways to build on her fortune.
Tennis is one of the highest-paid sports in the world, especially given that it’s an individual sport. And yet, so much of the talk is regarding how so many tennis players struggle to make a living. That’s because, for players who aren’t top-ranked, the earnings and prize money simply fall way short of the cost of travel, expenditures, and whatnot.
For female players, that financial trouble just multiplies manifolds. From tackling societal norms to sacrificing family plans for many to continue playing without enough money, female tennis players have a long way to go before anybody enjoys wealth anywhere close to Sharapova.
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Sharapova isn’t the richest WTA player of all-time. That tag would go to Serena Williams, whose net worth is an estimated $300 million. However, Jessica Pegula was born to ultra-rich parents and her overall net worth would be $3.2 billion after inheritance. She has only earned $12 million from tennis.
But they are all American players. When they are born into one of the most economically well-off nations, it helps to pick a career of choice without worrying about the financial outcome. Such is the support system for tennis and the brands that value the athletes in the US.
Even 20-year-old Coco Gauff struck a sweet deal with New Balance when she was only 14 years old. This is part of the reason Sharapova and her family moved to the States. Besides Sharapova, only Chinese player Li Na ($60 million) and former Russian player Anna Kournikova ($60 million) have touched the $50 million mark in net worth as per Wealthy Gorilla.
Kournikova too, like Sharapova, moved to the USA from Russia at an early age i.e. 10 and signed a management deal in Bradenton, Florida. Naomi Osaka from Japan also has a $59.2 million net worth.
How Maria Sharapova’s parents helped build her fortune from a young age
Maria Sharapova was born to Yuri Sharapov and Yelena in Nyagan, Russian SFSR. She kept moving from a very young age, and her father Yuri always strived to make a better living for her. By age 10, Sharapova started professional training at IMG in Bradenton, Florida, under Nick Bollettieri.
Yuri had no money and somehow borrowed sums to move to the States with Sharapova in 1994. She was soon paid $35,000 by IMG to cover her tuition fees, only for her to stay in the Academy and play. This was the start of her earnings and the end of financial trouble, even before she was a teenager.
Sharapova’s father was her agent and her biggest supporter. Over the years, Sharapova has been represented by IMG, Max Eisenbud, and by 2006 Forbes named her the highest female athlete in the world. She was earning $18 million then, almost all of which was from endorsements and sponsorships. She was ahead of Serena Williams and Li Na by 2012.
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Maxim, and FHM consistently featured her on their covers, banking on her striking good looks. Motorola, Land Rover, Tag Heuer, Tiffany, Canon, Nike, Tropicana, Cole Haan, Fred Perry, and Rene Lacoste are some of the other brands that she has endorsed over the years. She also has a business venture named Sugarpova, which began in 2012.
Sharapova has earned $38,777,962 in prize money from her tennis career. It only accounts for 17.62% of her total net worth. In comparison, today’s top-ranked player Iga Swiatek has a net worth of $25 million. Her prize money earnings are $27,068,071 to date.
It is more than her net worth, which speaks volumes about the lack of brand endorsements. Swiatek is endorsed by On, Asics, and Nike, and was previously endorsed by Xiaomi, Lexus, and Red Bull. Only Coco Gauff, with her deals with big brands like New Balance, and being one of the highest-paid female athletes today, looks like she can reach close to Sharapova’s wealth if she keeps growing her business.
