Surbiton Trophy Programme 2016

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Net income Sponsors are queuing up to sew their patches to the shirts of the world’s top tennis players. But what makes some players so much more attractive than others? Dominic Bliss finds out. [All financial figures courtesy of Forbes.] 16 Aegon surbiton trophy 2016
tennis’ top earners 2 million each. That’s what this year’s singles £ winners at Wimbledon will pocket in prize money. Enormous though it is, that amount will be totally eclipsed by what they earn in sponsorship money. At the top level the sport of tennis is awash with cash. Forbes magazine, the experts when it comes to salaries and earnings, ranks seven tennis players among their top 100 list of the “world’s highestpaid athletes”. In the lead is Roger Federer who, last year, banked an eye-watering US$67 million in all – $58 million in endorsements and $9 million in prize money. Not far behind him is Novak Djokovic at $48.2 million, then Nadal ($32.5m), Sharapova ($29.7m), Serena Williams ($24.6m), Murray ($22.3m) and Nishikori ($19.5m). What is it about tennis players that gets the sponsors so excited? Good looks and personality are of course crucial, and the players must have proved themselves successful in Grand Slams. A clean-cut image and popular social media accounts are important, too. Most important of all, however, is the power of television. Should players win through to the final of a Grand Slam, they could well find themselves appearing on screen for many hours, often on prime time broadcast slots. In between points, the cameras focus on the players’ upper bodies where, rather conveniently, the sponsors’ logos are attached. Add to this the fact that tennis is popular all over the world (the ATP and WTA currently stage over 120 main-tour events on six continents), particularly with the wealthy middle classes, and that it benefits from TV coverage from January all the way through to November. Which sponsor wouldn’t see this as a valuable investment? Hence the enormous earning potential of the following top players. Roger Federer 5th highest-earning sportsperson in the world Total annual earnings: $67m Prize money: $9m Sponsorship: $58m Don a smart white jacket, comb your hair nicely, and chat politely to the guests in the sponsor’s tent. It’s not difficult to endear yourself to the powersthat-be in tennis, especially if you’re well groomed, you speak several languages, and you have 17 Grand Slam titles to your name. This explains why a certain Swiss gent counts blue-chip companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, Credit Suisse, Moet & Chandon, and telecoms company Sunrise among his sponsors. Then there’s Nike (rumoured to be worth $10m a year), Wilson, private jets NetJets, chocolatiers Lindt and coffee manufacturer Jura. Clean-cut Federer is an advertiser’s dream. Novak Djokovic 13th highest-earning sportsperson in the world Total annual earnings: $48.2m Prize money: $17.2m Sponsorship: $31m Earlier in his career, Djokovic wasn’t able to draw in the same calibre of sponsors as his American and western European counterparts whose stronger economies allowed for wealthier partners. But now that he has 11 Grand Slam titles under his belt, and his brand has gone global, the Serbian has picked up very lucrative deals with the likes of Peugeot cars, Seiko watches, Uniqlo clothing and Jacob’s Creek wines. With his star continuing to rise even further, other sponsors are waiting in the wings. www.LTA.org.uk/aegonsurbitontrophy @SurbitonTrophy 17
Page 1 and 2: INTERNATIONAL STARS ON YOUR DOORSTE
Page 3 and 4: A warm welcome to the Aegon Surbito
Page 5 and 6: “A new clubhouse in the near futu
Page 7 and 8: BMW Business Partnership YOUR COMPA
Page 9 and 10: Summer Tennis Camps 2016 25th July
Page 11 and 12: ule britannia Davis Cup triumph for
Page 13 and 14: she puts down to fate. “It didn
Page 15: www.LTA.org.uk/aegonsurbitontrophy
Page 19 and 20: tennis’ top earners Andy Murray 6
Page 21 and 22: surbiton coach life on court It’s
Page 23 and 24: Team Babolat Pro Players may play w

Surbiton Trophy Programme 2016

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?