Win or lose in today’s Wimbledon’s fourth round, Britain’s Laura Robson has doubled her earning potential by reaching the second week of the Championships and using her bubbly personality to show just how marketable an asset the 19 year-old can be.
Now according to a leading marketing expert, that more success for Robson could even elevate her status to becoming Britain’s highest-grossing female sports star ever.
Before the start of Wimbledon, Robson’s prize fund stood at $US 827,790 (£543,918) and she is already guaranteed another £75,000 by reaching the fourth round. In addition she has endorsement deals with adidas and the Virgin Active chain of health clubs. But now more companies will want the first British female to enter the world’s top 30 for 25 years to be connected with their product.
“She’s got the potential to be the highest-earning sportswoman we’ve ever produced,” said Nigel Currie, director of sports marketing and sponsorship agency brandRapport. “She’s incredibly bubbly, she’s a good character, she’s good looking. She’s got a lot of marketable attributes. What she’s done in the past week will really make people take a lot of notice,”
“Laura has got big deals with adidas and Virgin already but you could see her earning potential from this doubling just on the basis of getting as far as she’s got. The pundits and experts on tennis are talking about a potential future champion. ”
However, Robson may need to emulate Andy Murray’s achievements to entice the biggest sponsors. “Now that we’ve got Andy I think that kind of conditions the whole thing,” said Tim Crow, the chief executive of sponsorship agency Synergy.
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: British tennis news, Laura Robson, Sports, Tennis News, Wimbledon, Wta