Maria Sharapova won her Wimbledon semifinal match today against Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-3 and will face off against Petra Kvitova in Saturday’s final. It marks Sharapova’s first Wimbledon final since her breakthrough win in 2004 as a 17-year-old. That tournament led to a slew of sponsorship deals with companies like Canon, Motorola and Colgate-Palmolive and made her the highest-paid female athlete in the world. She earned $24 million over the past year.
Sharapova has won 23 career singles titles including three Grand Slams, but she has struggled with injuries and inconsistency the past three years. This year Sharapova has played better reaching three finals in her last five events. She returned to the top 10 for the first time since February 2009 (she ranked No. 1 for 17 weeks between 2005 and 2008). Sharapova, still only 24, has a chance to be the dominant force in tennis on and off-the-court the next few years. Her three fellow Wimbledon semifinalists had one semifinal appearance in a Grand Slam before today (Kvitova, 2010 Wimbledon). Look at the rest of the women’s tennis landscape.
The No. 1 ranked player the past three years has included Ana Ivanovic, Jelana Jankovic, Dinara Safina and Carolyn Wozniacki. None have the talent of Sharapova and have won a single Grand Slam tournament combined in their careers (Ivanovic, 2008 French Open). Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters have also held the top spot, but Williams has struggled with injuries and has played only six matches the past year. She will be 30 in September which is ancient in tennis years. Clijsters withdrew from Wimbledon with a foot injury and appears headed for a second retirement from tennis to return to her family in the next year or two.
Venus Williams is 31 and hasn’t won a tournament in 16 months. China’s Li Na became the first player representing an Asian country to win a Grand Slam at the French Open in June, but her career is closer to the end than the beginning at 29 years old.
Tennis needs Sharapova right now. The U.S. audience is losing interest in women’s tennis with the Williams sisters entering the latter stages of their career and no other Americans on the radar (Bethanie Mattek-Sands is the only other American ranked in the top 70). Ratings have suffered in events where the Williams sisters were knocked out early or didn’t participate. The Russian-born Sharapova who moved to Florida at age 7 is one of the only female players that resonates with the U.S. public. Her good lucks and engaging personality have made her a media darling and her upcoming nuptials to NBA player Sasha Vujacic are sure to garner her more attention.
Sharapova’s business interests continue to thrive. Her signature line at Nike was up 26% last year and she now has five other pros wearing it on the WTA Tour. Her ballet flat is the No.1 selling shoe for Nike-subsidiary Cole Haan. Other partners include: Clear Shampoo, Evian, Head, Sony Ericsson, Tiffany and Tag Heuer.
Tennis has been very good for Sharapova’s bank account and now tennis needs Sharapova to be very good on the court for the sport to thrive.
