CELEBRITY
Serena’s massive on-court earnings have no rival
Serena Williams enters her final U.S. Open as a long shot to take home the trophy but her title as the biggest earner in the history of women’s tennis will remain for many years to come.
Since turning professional in 1995, Williams has amassed a mind-boggling $94.6 million in prize money, more than twice as much as the second name on the list, which happens to be her older sister Venus, with $42.3 million.
“It’s hard to overstate her success,” Victor Matheson, a sports economist at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, said of the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
“There are few other examples of athletes in sport who are so far beyond the number two like that.”
Put another way, about 25,000 women have won prize money in the history of the WTA and Serena Williams has earned more than the bottom 80% of those players combined, he said.
“She has far and away the most career earnings among female athletes and is one of the very few female athletes to be solidly in the top 20 money earners among all athletes in a given year.
“It’s very unusual in sports to see a female athlete have this sort of financial presence.”
While it is difficult to quantify Williams’ financial impact on the sport as a whole, her career has coincided with huge growth in the women’s game.
In 1995, the WTA handed out $35 million in total prize money, an amount that jumped to $180 million in 2020, said Bob Dorfman, Sports Marketing Analyst at San Francisco’s Pinnacle Advertising.
But there is no doubt that Williams, who along with Venus was introduced to the predominately white sport at an early age by their father in Compton, California, helped bring in a new audience.
“It used to be very country clubby,” Dorfman said.
“Then she came along and it became accepted in public parks and people who never thought about playing tennis before started playing. And a lot more African American players came along.”
And as she turns her attention to growing her family and becoming a full-fledged business mogul, it is tough to see anyone replicating her on-court dominance anytime soon.
“There’s nobody on the horizon right now that’s going to come close to that,” Dorfman said.
“Hopefully somebody else will come along and dominate but nobody is doing it right now. I don’t think there’s anybody who has the drive and desire to win that Serena does.”
-Reuters
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.
Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.
“We’ve made history, one billion followers! This is more than just a number, it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted on X.
“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey… thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player reached the milestone with over 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook and 113 million on X.
The 39-year-old topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes this year, with off-field earnings of $60 million, boosted by his large social media following.
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr will host Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
-Reuters
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.
The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.
A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.
Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.
-Reuters
Inter Miami will be the last club Argentina captain Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old forward said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.
Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 following his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions Paris St Germain.
“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi told ESPN.
“I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches… And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing with his national team to defend their Copa America title, with the tournament kicking off on June 20 in the United States.
Argentina will take on Canada in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.
-Reuters
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