Australian Open 2014 champion Li Na may be on course to overtake Maria Sharapova as the world’s richest female athlete. Her agent Max Eisenbud (who also happens to be Sharapova’s agent) said that the Chinese tennis sensation may very well earn more than Sharapova due to projected rise in endorsements in the coming months.
Sharapova has been dominating the list for the highest earning female athlete in the world for several years now but Li is closing the gap.
“She could. It’ll be interesting to see how that shakes up. A lot depends on how she plays and how Maria plays. But they’re both in the same stratosphere, for sure. Maybe we can do another one or two deals. But we can’t add five more deals for her.”
“I don’t think this win is about the money. I think it’s a big statement. A lot of girls have won a Grand Slam, but winning that second one puts you in a different category. She’s a wealthy girl and will get more deals and that will come, but this win is more about legacy. One of the things we’re really looking to do is to solidify her desire to have a tennis academy in China. So that’ll be a really big focus, having some sort of partnership with a property company there” he added.
