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LONDON. — Tennis sensation Emma Raducanu is on the way to becoming a £1 billion athlete after lawyers raced to register her with trademark chiefs.
They have applied in the UK to safeguard the words “Emma Raducanu”, “Emma” and “Raducanu” — paving the way for her own cosmetics, perfumes, clothing and footwear lines.
The 18-year-old Brit, with a Romanian dad and a Chinese mum, took the sporting world by storm on Saturday with her record-breaking US Open win.
That netted her £1.8million in prize money alone. A long career racking up further Grand Slams would be worth £100million in prizes.
The advertisers’ dream could trump Roger Federer’s £215million ten-year sponsorship deal with fashion brand Uniqlo. Other tie-ups, such as a mooted Tiffany deal in China, could pull in an annual £20million a time.
Wise investments could then earn Emma, who got an A-level in economics and yesterday toured the New York Stock Exchange, 15 per cent on top.
The teenager, from Bromley, South East London, said: “Visiting the trading floor was the one place on my bucket list I had to check out before leaving. My parents were both in finance and I definitely want to know more about the business side of things.”
Several sportsmen — including Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods — have amassed fortunes topping £1billion but Emma would be the first woman.
She set up her first limited company, Harbour 6, last year. Her new applications were filed within hours of her US Open win by UK lawyer Anthony Brierley.
Emma, also pictured on Wednesday with Olympic diver Tom Daley, could play at next month’s Transylvania Open in Cluj, Romania — and visit her grandmother in nearby Bucharest.
Her gran, who did not want to be named, told The Sun: “I’ll make mincemeat in cabbage leaves. It’s her favourite.”
Meanwhile, Raducanu says she is “hungry” to improve after her US Open win.
The 18-year-old became the first British woman in 44 years to win a Grand Slam singles title when she beat Leylah Fernandez in Saturday’s final.
On Monday she appeared on US talk shows and attended the Met Gala, before Tuesday’s visit to the US Stock Exchange.
“I have a few days’ rest and recovery – I think needed after the last seven weeks,” she told CNBC’s Closing Bell.
“But then I am straight back to training and hungry to get better and come back out and play some more tournaments.”
Raducanu stunned the US Open field, coming through qualifying and not dropping a set throughout the tournament, to become the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title.
Since then the new world number 23 and British number one has been the focus of media attention all over the world.
She could receive a wildcard to appear at Indian Wells in California, which begins on October 7. — The Sun.
Online Reporter