Table of Contents
- Former Romanian tennis player Ion Tiriac’s wealth sparks questions on how to become a tennis millionaire
- His net worth is north of $2.2 billion
- Tiriac stands as the richest tennis player in history
With an estimated $2.2 billion net worth, former Romanian tennis player Ion Tiriac sparks questions on how to become a tennis millionaire.
Tiriac stands as the richest tennis player in history. He invested prudently in various businesses, home and away. His investment ranges from construction, insurance, business consultancy and asset management
His business-savvy sense inspired the likes of Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, among others.
In recent times, young players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Emma Raducanu, Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka, among others, have won big cash prizes from their Grand Slam victories.
In short, these are millionaires in the making.
Maria Sharapova on How to Become a Tennis Millionaire
Winning a Grand Slam and remaining consistent opens the chapter on how to become a tennis millionaire. Sharapova’s life changed when she was only 17 years old. That’s back in 2004.
Retired tennis player Maria Sharapova. Photo/SkySports
She won Wimbledon, her first Grand Slam, which was the start of a new life as a tennis millionaire.
Speaking on Andy Roddick’s Served podcast, the Russian-born tennis legend revealed that any tennis player who wins a major slam and remains consistent can build a multi-million-dollar empire.
No one thought that a US-based retired tennis player would beat Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon finals despite her promising performance earlier on at Roland Garros.
Shockingly, the mother of one and astute businesswoman beat Serena to win her first Grand Slam title.
Winning this slam and remaining consistent opened doors for sponsorships that led her on a path to financial freedom.
Coming back to the current crop of WTA Tour and ATP Tour players, Sharapova insists that how to become a tennis millionaire starts with victory in major slams.
This invites sponsorships and brand endorsement deals worth millions of dollars.
How Much Can You Earn After a Grand Slam Win?
From experience, it’s possible to make a couple of million dollars from a sponsorship deal each year after winning a major event.
“You win a Grand Slam in your sport and based on my own experience, you’re pretty much guaranteed that for the next two or three years, you are not making less than $1m on any deal,” Tennis365 writes.
With consistency, you make a lot more – the most useful lesson on how to become a tennis millionaire.
Iga Swiatek won the Wimbledon on Saturday after beating Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in 57 minutes. Photo/ Tennis365.
Sharapova quips that a player who signs a three-year sponsorship deal with a company and manages to maintain a high-level tennis performance is always guaranteed of more money flowing into their accounts each year.
She warned that a dip in performance is a turn-off for many sponsors because a player’s ranking is the absolute bargaining chip.
A performance dip in the second year is a sign that your sponsor will not renew their deal with you. The biggest challenge in this journey is staying in top physical form, as injuries are always a possibility for every tennis player.
A player recovering from an injury is apprehensive, always wondering if they will get back to their previous level of play. This anxiety eventually affects their performance.
Until recently, British tennis star Emma Raducanu nearly gave up her tennis dream due to recurring knee and wrist injuries. She lost in the early stages of every match she played.
It wasn’t until her wrists and knee surgery that she regained her form. Raducanu – well on her journey on how to become a tennis millionaire – understands how injuries threaten the financial future of a tennis player.
However, she is among the new generation of tennis players with lucrative deals.
Some of the big brands bankrolling her include Dior, Adidas, Wilson, Porsche, AirWayz, Vodafone, and British Airways, among others.
