by Guest » 29 Apr 2024, 11:45
How Iga Swiatek became best-paid female athlete in the world
https:// www .thetimes.co.uk/sport/tennis/article/tennis-how-iga-swiatek-became-best-paid-female-athlete-in-the-world-56kdvnbng
It has been a significant fortnight for the worldâs highest-paid female athlete. Last week she became the first sportsperson to sign a worldwide ambassadorship with the popular beauty company LancĂ´me, before Monday marked a 100th week as the best female tennis player on the planet.
Yet, more than two years after climbing to the summit of the womenâs tour for the first time, there is a sense that Iga Swiatek is still not completely at ease with the fame that her sporting prowess has brought. Never one to chase attention and money, the 22-year-old from Poland acknowledged at the Madrid Open this week that there was some hesitancy in putting pen to paper on her latest deal.
âIâm really grateful they saw potential in me because Iâm not the kind of person who wears make-up every day,â Swiatek said. âI wasnât sure to fit in, but we talked it through and I think itâs a great partner to have, so Iâm really grateful they wanted to collaborate.â
This reluctance to put herself out there commercially is a trait that has paradoxically worked in Swiatekâs favour when it comes to boosting her bank balance. Of the nine tennis players in the top ten of Forbesâs 2023 sporting female rich list, Swiatek finished top with ÂŁ11.2million of endorsements topping up prize money of ÂŁ7.9million. By comparison, her sponsorship income was only ÂŁ800,000 behind the totals of Emma Raducanu, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, all of whom are regarded to be more eager in their deal making.
This is not to say that Swiatek has shunned this side of life as an athlete. Five months after becoming world No1 she signed with IMG, the management agency regarded as the most high profile in tennis. With it came the opportunity to work with Max Eisenbud, the American agent renowned for making millions off the court for the likes of Raducanu and Maria Sharapova.
âEverybody is different,â Eisenbud tells the Times. âEverybody has different wants and needs. I think that Iga is certainly not somebody whoâs looking to do a lot of deals, but you start looking at her portfolio and sheâs got a nice amount of deals with some great brands.
âItâs very similar to Maria in that her time is very important to her. Sheâs driven to be great and to compete to win grand slams, so deals in which companies and brands want a lot of her time are probably not going to be a great fit.â
Despite the limitations in time that Eisenbud can offer in Swiatekâs schedule, he has not been short of offers. The companies alongside LancĂ´me on her list of partnerships include Visa (financial payments), Porsche (cars), Rolex (watches), Lego (toys), Infosys (information technology), On (shoes and clothing) and Oshee (sports drinks).
In the negotiations that Eisenbud has conducted, he has observed why companies are attracted to Swiatek. Her success is an obvious factor, winning four grand-slam titles â the French Open in 2020, 2022 and 2023, and the US Open in 2022 â after a period in which there was much fluctuation in the womenâs game. More of a surprise is that her shy and unassuming personality has also been cited as a marketing strength.
âIga has been one of the most consistent performers in a long time, since Serena [Williams], Maria and that whole group retired,â Eisenbud says. âThere really hasnât been somebody whoâs been just totally consistent, so I think thatâs very attractive to brands. Sheâs consistently in the second week of grand slams, sheâs consistently at No1. That and her passion for the game is something the brands can get very excited about.
âSheâs just a good girl. You see her on social media, sheâs reading books in parks and sheâs very passionate about the charity work that she does. Itâs just very refreshing. Iâd say that those are some of the biggest things as to why a lot of brands want to be in business with her.â
Lego is perhaps the best fit of all. Swiatek often travels with sets of toy bricks to build models and puzzles during her spare time at tournaments. In 2021 she told The Times that it helped improve her mental strength.
âBasically, it is an activity in which you are not using your computer or phone, so itâs good,â Swiatek said. âIt also helps before matches to stay active and not get tired.â
The irony is that Swiatekâs introverted style is at complete odds with her ruthlessness on the court. There is a memorable tale from the night she discovered she was suddenly one win from becoming world No 1 after the shock retirement of Ashleigh Barty. Rather than reacting excitably, Swiatek sat down in her Miami apartment and burst into tears with confusion as to how this might change her life. Three days later, she won her first-round match 6-2, 6-0 in 74 minutes to secure the top spot with minimal fuss.
Swiatekâs discipline and competitive nature can be traced back to her childhood. She is the daughter of an Olympic rower, Tomasz, who competed in the menâs quadruple sculls at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Little known is that her sister, Agata, 25, was also a talented tennis player who briefly competed on the ITF junior circuit before quitting because of injury. As is often the way, Swiatekâs urge to get the better of her elder sibling helped instil her fighting spirit.
âShe was always a kid who wanted to compete,â Swiatekâs father told the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolitalast year. âFirst with her older sister, then with rivals on the court. As a ten-year-old, she urged, âLetâs go to a tournament for older girls, because weâve already beaten everyone here.â She was always looking for new challenges.â
That remains to this day. While the obvious goal and focus from here would be to complete the career grand slam by winning Wimbledon and the Australian Open, Swiatek is quietly relentless in continuing to seek domination from week to week.
âIga is just waking up every day thinking about how to win tennis matches and how to be great,â Eisenbud says. âSheâs just driven for that and I think you see that when sheâs on the court. She loves to play, she loves to compete. Itâs pretty impressive.â
[b]How Iga Swiatek became best-paid female athlete in the world[/b]
[spoiler]https:// www .thetimes.co.uk/sport/tennis/article/tennis-how-iga-swiatek-became-best-paid-female-athlete-in-the-world-56kdvnbng
[quote]It has been a significant fortnight for the worldâs highest-paid female athlete. Last week she became the first sportsperson to sign a worldwide ambassadorship with the popular beauty company LancĂ´me, before Monday marked a 100th week as the best female tennis player on the planet.
Yet, more than two years after climbing to the summit of the womenâs tour for the first time, there is a sense that Iga Swiatek is still not completely at ease with the fame that her sporting prowess has brought. Never one to chase attention and money, the 22-year-old from Poland acknowledged at the Madrid Open this week that there was some hesitancy in putting pen to paper on her latest deal.
âIâm really grateful they saw potential in me because Iâm not the kind of person who wears make-up every day,â Swiatek said. âI wasnât sure to fit in, but we talked it through and I think itâs a great partner to have, so Iâm really grateful they wanted to collaborate.â
This reluctance to put herself out there commercially is a trait that has paradoxically worked in Swiatekâs favour when it comes to boosting her bank balance. Of the nine tennis players in the top ten of Forbesâs 2023 sporting female rich list, Swiatek finished top with ÂŁ11.2million of endorsements topping up prize money of ÂŁ7.9million. By comparison, her sponsorship income was only ÂŁ800,000 behind the totals of Emma Raducanu, Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, all of whom are regarded to be more eager in their deal making.
This is not to say that Swiatek has shunned this side of life as an athlete. Five months after becoming world No1 she signed with IMG, the management agency regarded as the most high profile in tennis. With it came the opportunity to work with Max Eisenbud, the American agent renowned for making millions off the court for the likes of Raducanu and Maria Sharapova.
âEverybody is different,â Eisenbud tells the Times. âEverybody has different wants and needs. I think that Iga is certainly not somebody whoâs looking to do a lot of deals, but you start looking at her portfolio and sheâs got a nice amount of deals with some great brands.
âItâs very similar to Maria in that her time is very important to her. Sheâs driven to be great and to compete to win grand slams, so deals in which companies and brands want a lot of her time are probably not going to be a great fit.â
Despite the limitations in time that Eisenbud can offer in Swiatekâs schedule, he has not been short of offers. The companies alongside LancĂ´me on her list of partnerships include Visa (financial payments), Porsche (cars), Rolex (watches), Lego (toys), Infosys (information technology), On (shoes and clothing) and Oshee (sports drinks).
In the negotiations that Eisenbud has conducted, he has observed why companies are attracted to Swiatek. Her success is an obvious factor, winning four grand-slam titles â the French Open in 2020, 2022 and 2023, and the US Open in 2022 â after a period in which there was much fluctuation in the womenâs game. More of a surprise is that her shy and unassuming personality has also been cited as a marketing strength.
âIga has been one of the most consistent performers in a long time, since Serena [Williams], Maria and that whole group retired,â Eisenbud says. âThere really hasnât been somebody whoâs been just totally consistent, so I think thatâs very attractive to brands. Sheâs consistently in the second week of grand slams, sheâs consistently at No1. That and her passion for the game is something the brands can get very excited about.
âSheâs just a good girl. You see her on social media, sheâs reading books in parks and sheâs very passionate about the charity work that she does. Itâs just very refreshing. Iâd say that those are some of the biggest things as to why a lot of brands want to be in business with her.â
Lego is perhaps the best fit of all. Swiatek often travels with sets of toy bricks to build models and puzzles during her spare time at tournaments. In 2021 she told The Times that it helped improve her mental strength.
âBasically, it is an activity in which you are not using your computer or phone, so itâs good,â Swiatek said. âIt also helps before matches to stay active and not get tired.â
The irony is that Swiatekâs introverted style is at complete odds with her ruthlessness on the court. There is a memorable tale from the night she discovered she was suddenly one win from becoming world No 1 after the shock retirement of Ashleigh Barty. Rather than reacting excitably, Swiatek sat down in her Miami apartment and burst into tears with confusion as to how this might change her life. Three days later, she won her first-round match 6-2, 6-0 in 74 minutes to secure the top spot with minimal fuss.
Swiatekâs discipline and competitive nature can be traced back to her childhood. She is the daughter of an Olympic rower, Tomasz, who competed in the menâs quadruple sculls at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Little known is that her sister, Agata, 25, was also a talented tennis player who briefly competed on the ITF junior circuit before quitting because of injury. As is often the way, Swiatekâs urge to get the better of her elder sibling helped instil her fighting spirit.
âShe was always a kid who wanted to compete,â Swiatekâs father told the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolitalast year. âFirst with her older sister, then with rivals on the court. As a ten-year-old, she urged, âLetâs go to a tournament for older girls, because weâve already beaten everyone here.â She was always looking for new challenges.â
That remains to this day. While the obvious goal and focus from here would be to complete the career grand slam by winning Wimbledon and the Australian Open, Swiatek is quietly relentless in continuing to seek domination from week to week.
âIga is just waking up every day thinking about how to win tennis matches and how to be great,â Eisenbud says. âSheâs just driven for that and I think you see that when sheâs on the court. She loves to play, she loves to compete. Itâs pretty impressive.â[/quote][/spoiler]