Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are leading the way when it comes to showing future generations of young tennis players what’s possible beyond just the court.
Two of the greatest tennis players of all time have taken their names and brands into spaces that tennis players haven’t normally gone to.
Former professional tennis player turned commentator, Andrea Petkovic, appeared on The AO Show podcast where she credited the two legends in breaking the norm of tennis players not being able to have interests outside of tennis while on tour.
“When I started it was kind of frowned upon to have multiple interests and I really think Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams changed all that,” Petkovic said.
“I think they were the first ones. I’ve always had my interests and my hobbies and my books, my writings and all these other things but I would almost not talk about it because I thought I have to be focused on what I do, playing tennis.
“Maria and Serena kind of brought the narrative to another level where they were like, ‘No, I do design furniture and I’m a nail specialist in Serena and I am a businesswoman in Maria.'”
Both Williams and Sharapova have businesses and interests that go well beyond the game of tennis, as Petkovic alluded to.
Williams has a net worth of $340 million, earning nearly $95 million of that in prize money, while Sharapova has a net worth of $220 million, earning almost $39 million in prize money.
It’s clear the two have found just as much success, if not more, in their business ventures than their actual playing careers.
And that’s pretty remarkable, considering they are two of the best to ever pick up a racket.
Petkovic gave the two women credit in not only changing the game for tennis players, but athletes in general.
“They changed the narrative of an athlete in general, not only tennis players,” Petkovic said.
“It was okay to do other things. I felt much more comfortable after that to talk about the things that I had and I always saw it as an add-on not a takeaway to my game.
“Something that can strengthen me mentally and not take away from me mentally.”
Williams and Sharapova paved the way and showed that it’s possible to have successful careers after retirement and that there’s no need to be painted in a corner as just the jock and tennis player.
“You see it with Serena, you see it with Maria and for me in a much smaller way as well,” Petkovic said. “You don’t fall into a hole after tennis like, ‘What am I supposed to do with my life?’
“You kind of land on your feet and find another path if you’ve already tried a few things out while you were still playing.”
The next generation of stars such as Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff have taken notice and are following in their footsteps.
Osaka, 26, has already founded a couple of her own businesses, such as KINLÒ, a skincare brand designed for the “melanin-rich”, her own media company, Hana Kama and helped co-found Evolve, the first female-led talent agency.
Gauff recently partnered with UPS to ‘inspire Gen-Z small business innovators. At just 20-years-old, Gauff has taken it upon herself to help others outside
“People told me I was too young, that I needed to focus on tennis, not do multiple things at once, and stay in my lane’, Gauff said.
Williams and Sharapova have shown that there is more than just one lane, that it’s capable to have successful careers off the court while still competing and winning at the highest level.
