Night among the rich

A final at the US Open doesn’t change the world, except that… having Leila Fernandez in the final of the tournament last year helped make Kipker the 10th highest-paid athlete on the planet.

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According to a list prepared by the specialized media Sportico Released on Thursday, the 20-year-old earned $6.4 million (CAD 8.6 million) between May 2021 and May 2022.

Of this amount, US$4.5 million (about C$6 million) comes from sponsors. Sportico Lists the 10th and most partnered with the world No. 40 after the final at Flushing Meadows.

These include Canadian sportswear company Lululemon, US bank Morgan Stanley, sports drink company Gatorade and submarine giant Subway.

Since May, the player from Laval has also established a partnership with Lawyers of Mexico. She is also one of the faces of the BonLook Optical Company, whose head office is located in Montreal.

The remaining $1.9 million comes from his tournament winnings, primarily from those he earned in New York last year. The finalists’ purse was $1.25 million.

Take down photography

In a recent interview with registerLeila’s father and coach, Jorge Fernandez, admitted that this increased interest from sponsors for the young athlete had relieved them of their “financial nightmare”.

But this new reality also presents a challenge to the family, which must conform to the many demands of its partners.

“It’s rarely an hour-long affair,” Mr. Fernandez said of the commercial shoots and photo shoots his daughter should attend. Often it’s a story for several days and that takes us away from our training plan. »

“So I try to limit the time allotted to 24 hours and then go back to work,” he added. It’s something we’ve learned, because we don’t have a book that tells us how to do it. »

Still far from men

If Lily quickly made a fortune through her tennis, she is still far from the highest-paid athletes on this list: Japan’s Naomi Osaka ($53.2 million, including $52 million taken from courts) and American Serena Williams (35.3 million). US$1 million, including $35 million in sponsorship contracts).

All of these guys are very far from having a full bank account like their male counterparts. All races combined, Osaka ranks 20th in the list of highest paid athletes. Williams is 52nd and Fernandes is out of the top 1000.

Basketball player LeBron James is the athlete who made the most money during the same period, according to Sportico. The face of the Los Angeles Lakers earned $126.9 million, including $90 million in sponsorship contracts.

Small yellow ball followers dominate

Female tennis players dominate the ranking of the richest female athletes. They are seven times as among the ten richest female athletes.

Like Leylah Fernandez, most of them got most of their money from their business partnerships. Such is the case of Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, who have played very little in the past two years.

Moreover, if we rely only on the sums obtained thanks to the sponsors, Quebecer also ranks tenth in this list.

1. Naomi Osaka, JPN | Tennis $53.2 million ($52 million in sponsorship contracts)

2 – Serena Williams, USA | Tennis $35.3 million ($35 million in sponsorship contracts)

3 – Emma Raducano, GBR | Tennis $26.2 million ($23 million in sponsorship contracts)

4 – Eileen Joe, USA | Freestyle skiing $23.1 million ($23 million in sponsorship contracts)

5. Simone Biles, USA | Gymnastics $9 million ($9 million in sponsorship contracts)

6. Jing Young-koo, Core | Golf $8.9 million ($4.7 million in sponsorship contracts)

7. Iga Swiatek, Paul | Tennis $8.3 million ($2.5 million in sponsorship contracts)

8- Coco Goff, USA | Tennis $7.7 million ($6 million in sponsorship contracts)

9 – Ashley Barty, AU | Tennis $7.6 million ($2.5 million in sponsorship contracts)

10. Leila Fernandez, Canada | Tennis $6.4 million ($4.5 million in sponsorship contracts)

11. Alex Morgan, USA | $5.9 million ($5.5 million in sponsorship contracts)

11. Megan Rapinoe, USA | $5.9 million ($5.5 million in sponsorship contracts)

13 – Nelly Korda, USA | Golf $5.7 million ($1.7 million in sponsorship contracts)

13 – Garbin Muguruza, ESP | Tennis $5.7 million ($3.5 million in sponsorship contracts)

15. Lexi Thompson, USA | Golf $5.5 million ($4 million in sponsorship contracts)

* Amounts in US dollars between May 2021 and May 2022

Source: Sportico