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Leylah Fernandez continues her sluggish ascent again to the highest of the world rankings. Though the comeback she was relying on this previous season didn’t materialize, the previous No. 13 nonetheless managed to shut out 2023 with a bang by way of numbers—tennis stats and wealth.
Outdoors the WTA, Leylah ranks in one other Prime 20 as one of many world’s highest-paid feminine athletes. She shares the thirteenth spot with Mikaela Shiffrin, who holds probably the most World Cup wins of any alpine skier in historical past. Their earnings whole US$6.1M this yr: US$1.1M in prize cash and US$5M in sponsorships.
Fernandez is presently working with 10 sponsors, together with Lululemon, Subway, Google, Gatorade, Lego, Ritz Canada and Morgan Stanley.
When Morgan Stanley partnered with the WTA, she signed on to be in a ladies’s tennis marketing campaign that was broadcast in the course of the US Open this summer season.
However again to tennis.
Since mid-September, Leylah’s received 15 of 18 matches together with qualifiers and Billie Jean King Cup, the place her 4 victories for Canada had been the spotlight of the season.
And one of the best is but to come back.
Absence makes the center develop fonder
Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka is gearing up for a comeback after giving beginning to her daughter Shai. However even in her yr off the courts, her huge sponsorship portfolio introduced in a number of million {dollars}.
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Certainly the avalanche of contracts that adopted her 2018 US Open triumph on the expense of Serena Williams—the primary of 4 Grand Slam crowns—continues to repay.
And like Serena and the opposite ladies who’ve had kids and returned to the WTA, Naomi is now taking part in for extra than simply herself. She’ll at all times have Shai on her thoughts, on and off the courtroom.
She might not have competed in 2023, however the Japanese tennis star is No. 5 in Sportico’s rating of the highest-paid feminine athletes. In case you had been questioning, Coco Gauff isn’t any.1, adopted by No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Take a more in-depth look, and also you’ll see that the Prime 8 are all tennis gamers excluding no. 3, US-born Chinese language freestyle skier Eileen Gu who’s signed with some 20 companions together with Estée Lauder, Louis Vuitton, Victoria’s Secret and Tiffany & Co., in addition to Chinese language manufacturers like China Cell, Anta, Financial institution of China and JD.com.
And that’s what’s so extraordinary about Gu’s success. With a Chinese language mom and an American father, she’s among the many multicultural icons who attain a whole lot of hundreds of thousands, even billions, of individuals. She’s taken house round $27K in prize cash and banked $20M in offers.
An indication of the instances: the No. 4 and No. 5 have related heritages.
Emma Raducanu, whose mom is Chinese language and whose father is Romanian, collected $238,000 from tennis tournaments and $16M from her companions. Naomi Osaka, whose mom is Japanese and whose father is Haitian, secured $15M in non-tennis revenue.
Djokovic, palms down
Novak Djokovic is manner forward.
Means, manner forward.
If there are nonetheless any doubts as to his supremacy, it’s time to face details. After trailing Rafa and Roger, Novak caught up and proceeded to depart them within the mud. And he’s not even near retiring.
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In distinctive kind at 36, he bettered his personal file when he wrapped up the season because the year-end No.1 for the eighth time due to the three Slam titles he took house from the 4 finals he competed on this season.
What’s extra, his dominance at the recent ATP Finals is sufficient to discourage anybody eyeing his spot. Within the semis and remaining, he outplayed Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. In contrast to their performances of their different matches in Turin, they each racked up an amazing quantity of unforced errors—proof that the Djoker had gotten into their heads.
On Dec. 11, 60 Minutes aired a twelve-minute section on Novak. It featured an interview from his house in Serbia that speaks volumes about his legendary capacity to dominate bodily and particularly mentally.
This previous season, he conquered the one class he wasn’t but lording over: large titles.
He now has probably the most Grand Slam titles, probably the most Masters 1000 titles and probably the most ATP Finals titles.
Some folks don’t like the concept of a GOAT, saying which you could’t evaluate champions from totally different eras. Truthful sufficient, however that doesn’t maintain water when you think about Novak’s file.
And the subsequent era has a method to go. Daniil Medvedev has eight large titles. Zverev has seven, Alcaraz has six.
An extended, great distance.
On with the present!
The gamers have taken to exhibition tennis.
And there are increasingly occasions each season.
Rivals earn attendance charges, in fact, however most significantly, they’ve a good time. With none strain to carry out or safe rating factors, the highest gamers RSVP sure once they’re invited to the Hopman Cup, World Tennis League, United Cup or Final Tennis Showdown (UTS).
Learn Additionally: Canada Stands Alone Atop the Tennis World After Billie Jean King Cup Victory
Let’s begin with the UTS created by none apart from Patrick Mouratoglou in the course of the pandemic. Meant to be a possibility for gamers to compete whereas ready for WTA and ATP tennis to renew, the occasion has saved coming again.
The Grand Last 2023 shall be determined in mid-December in London. Native hero Jack Draper shall be there together with Rune, Rublev, Ruud, Bublik, Schwartzman, Monfils and Paire.
A number of days earlier than Christmas, the United Arab Emirates will host the World Tennis League. Eventually yr’s inaugural occasion in Dubai, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Eugenie Bouchard made up one of many 4 groups in competitors and received so far as the ultimate.
This yr, Etihad Area in Abu Dhabi will welcome 4 groups who’d be the envy of any tennis match. Leylah Fernandez will play for Canada.
After that, she’ll head to Perth, Australia, for the United Cup. She and Félix will lead our nationwide squad, which additionally contains Stacey Fung, Alexis Galarneau and Adil Shamasdin.
Our two younger compatriots can also be at Tennis Performs for Peace in Melbourne once more this yr, simply forward of AO 2024.
In 2023, they had been within the combine with Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
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Electronic mail: privard@tenniscanada.com
Twitter: @paul6rivard
Observe all our Canadians in motion here.
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