Love And Money: Why The Girlfriends Of Top Tennis Players Are Making Millions

Forbes

Paige Lorenze, Morgan Riddle, Ayan Broomfield and others dating tennis pros are signing up as many sponsorship deals as their romantic doubles partners. Inside the lucrative racket that advertisers can’t resist.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2024/08/23/love-and-money-why-the-girlfriends-of-top-tennis-players-are-making-millions/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, love and money.

00:03Why the girlfriends of top tennis players

00:06are making millions.

00:08For many professional tennis players,

00:10the US Open represents the busiest few weeks

00:13on the calendar.

00:14Given the proximity to deep-pocketed American brands,

00:18it's a chance to schmooze current sponsors

00:20at events off the court,

00:21and attract new ones with stellar play

00:23in front of thousands of fans in New York,

00:26plus millions more on TV.

00:28But in a handful of cases,

00:30the players aren't even the busiest people

00:32in their own camp.

00:34Paige Lorenz, a social media creator and entrepreneur,

00:38who's been dating American star Tommy Paul since 2022,

00:42says, quote,

00:43I have probably as many brand deals as Tommy does

00:46during the US Open.

00:48The 26-year-old Lorenz

00:50says she expects to post on social media

00:52or appear at events for more than 15 sponsors

00:55over the next two weeks,

00:57as well as host a pop-up event

00:58for her own clothing brand, Dairy Boy.

01:02Lorenz is one of many tennis world influencers

01:05experiencing a breakthrough year

01:06as brands attempt to reach audiences

01:09that aren't traditional sports fans.

01:11Lorenz estimates that her followers,

01:13nearly 700,000 on Instagram,

01:16are around 80% female,

01:18and that only 10 to 15% are tennis fans.

01:22The trend holds across many sports,

01:24especially in the cases of professional athlete partners,

01:27including Kylie Kelsey, Ayesha Curry,

01:29and a handful of soccer and Formula One wives

01:32and girlfriends.

01:33But it's tennis that has the greatest appeal to marketers

01:36because of its year-long globetrotting schedule,

01:39its historic association with affluent consumers,

01:42and the tradition of including cutaways to the player's box

01:45as part of national TV broadcasts.

01:48Some of the most famous of these tennis-adjacent creators

01:51include Lorenz, Morgan Riddle, girlfriend of Taylor Fritz,

01:56the American star ranked number 12 in the world,

01:59and Ayaan Broomfield, dating Frances Tiafoe,

02:02ranked number 20.

02:04Forbes estimates that they will earn

02:05between $1 million and $3 million

02:08in brand endorsements this year.

02:11Ashley Villa, founder and CEO

02:13of talent management firm Rara Global,

02:16which focuses on female clients,

02:18says these lifestyle creators

02:20have helped turn the country club aesthetic

02:22she calls tennis core

02:24into a fashion trend over the past year,

02:26adopted by young women

02:27regardless of whether they actually play the sport.

02:30Content staples such as the Get Ready With Me

02:33and Weekend My Life videos

02:35can attract sponsorship from fashion and beauty companies

02:38as much as sports apparel and athleisure brands.

02:42Villa says, quote,

02:43There has been a huge uptick

02:45in this category of sports creators,

02:47and we also see that in the brand dollars

02:49behind what they're willing to spend

02:50and put behind their activations in these events.

02:55Compared with creators who don't carry the association

02:57with professional athletes,

02:58this new class of talent can command a premium fee.

03:02On Instagram, the most important platform in the space,

03:05deals range from $5,000 to $25,000 per post

03:09for most creators with similar-sized followings,

03:11according to Forbes estimates,

03:13while the range for creators in the sports world

03:16is $30,000 to $60,000 per post.

03:19Fees are slightly lower on TikTok,

03:22although a brand that wants to syndicate

03:23across both networks will pay a slightly higher total.

03:28That amount of money has attracted the attention

03:29of talent managers and agents

03:31who are steering clients toward a smaller portfolio

03:34of long-term partnerships

03:36rather than churning through one-off posts.

03:39In early 2023, Villa's company began working with Riddle,

03:42a 27-year-old creator who has been dating Fritz since 2020

03:46and has since signed her to long-term deals

03:49with brands including Grey Goose, Boss Women's Wear,

03:52Wilson, Bumble & Bumble, David Yerman Jewelry,

03:55and Ole Henriksen Skincare.

03:58Thanks to her work as an influencer,

03:59Lorenz signed with WME earlier this year

04:03and has secured partnerships with Target, Dove,

04:05St. James Iced Tea, and the beauty brand Wella.

04:09This category of deals, which in many cases last for one year

04:13and require regular tag posts and mentions in blogs,

04:17along with an expectation that products might be worn

04:19while in a player's box,

04:21can range from $200,000 to $500,000 each.

04:27For full coverage, check out Matt Craig's piece

04:29on Forbes.com.

04:32This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:34Thanks for tuning in.

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