Emma Raducanu’s US Open title has been widely compared to the one that Maria Sharapova won in Wimbledon back in 2004. There are many similarities between the 2 titles. Both Emma and Maria won their first slam when they were just teenagers (Emma at 18 while Maria was 17). Also, both players have a very entertaining aggressive tennis that, coupled with their amazing look, makes their matches extremely watchable, attracting scores of fans. In addition, Raducanu and Sharapova have very interesting personalities.
Why Raducanu may be more marketable than Sharapova
Emma has some traits that could make her even more attractive from a marketing point of view than the Russian Beauty. Being British, Emma can attract more endorsements, especially on the home soil. Furthermore, she is quite appealing also in the Far East, especially in China, being able to speak good Mandarin (her mother is Chinese).
The power of social media
Max Eisenbud (IMG) is considered one of the key people who helped Maria Sharapova to accumulate substantial wealth. According to Max, Emma has another advantage over Maria: social media.
During a recent interview with the New York Times, Eisenbud commented:
“The difference between Maria winning Wimbledon and Emma winning the US Open really comes down to social media. There were no social media in 2004
, but it made things move so fast this time. It’s just in warp speed.”At 18 years of age, Emma already has 2.1 million followers on Instagram. After so much success in her career, Maria Sharapova has only double that figure (4.1 million).
Emma has already secured lucrative endorsements from Vodafone, Dior, Evian, British Airways and Tiffany & Co alongside the “technical sponsors” like Nike and Wilson.
Emma Raducanu in 2021
Now the world no.19 (career-high), Emma played her last match on the 9th of November when she was overcome by world no.101 Xin Yu Wang 6-1 6-7(0) 7-5 in the 2nd round in Linz (draw).
At the moment, during this season Raducanu has a 25-9 match record. Raducanu has won 1 title at the U.S. Open. Emma reached the final in Chicago.
Emma Raducanu |
| Embed from Getty Images |