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On August 3, local time, Zheng Qinwen won the gold medal in the tennis women's singles final of the Paris Olympics, which was also the first Olympic tennis women's singles gold medal won by a Chinese player.
Zheng Qinwen's victory detonated social networks. Unlike athletes trained by the national system, Zheng Qinwen went overseas for training very early on, taking the route of a professional tennis player. After winning the gold medal this time, Zheng Qinwen said in an interview, "For me and my family, the Olympics have always been more important than the Grand Slam, because in our hearts, national honor will always be more important than the individual. "At this moment, the national values and personal values have reached a perfect balance.
The Beijing News shell financial reporter combed and found that Zheng Qinwen signed a contract with IMG, the head agency in the tennis industry, as early as 11 years old, and so far, she has at least ten commercial endorsements, and in 2023, she ranks 15th on Forbes' "2023 Highest Paid Female Athletes in Sports" list with an annual income of $7.2 million, of which $5.5 million comes from "off-court income" including commercial sponsorships.
It is worth noting that the highest-paid female athlete on the Forbes list in 2023 is the Poland tennis star Swiatek who was defeated by Zheng Qinwen in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics. Zheng Qinwen's potential in the business battlefield has also sparked reverie with the victory.
"Bet" Zheng Qinwen won the championship, sponsor: you need luck but you like the spirit of hard work
According to incomplete statistics from Shell financial reporters, before the Paris Olympics, Zheng Qinwen had endorsed at least ten famous brands, including Nike, which was the first to sign a contract, Ant Group, which signed a contract in August 2022, as well as Rolex, Wilson, Swisse, McDonald's, Yili, Gatorade, Bawang Chaji, Lancôme, etc.
On August 4, a middle-level company of the above-mentioned sponsor revealed to the Shell financial reporter that many employees of the company stayed up late to watch Zheng Qinwen's competition and were sincerely happy. "When she first came into contact with Zheng Qinwen, she was still very young and showing her edge, but she didn't expect to achieve success so quickly. Looking back now, our layout may have been precise, but Zheng Qinwen's achievements have definitely exceeded our expectations, she is only 21 years old, and the future is limitless. ”
For the "betting" athletes to win the championship, the middle management of the company said frankly: "It takes a little luck, but at the same time, from our point of view, an athlete's temperament, character, and fighting spirit are the first considerations." ”
In fact, Zheng Qinwen's commercial sponsorship began in 2013 when he participated in an open tournament for junior tennis players held by the IMG Academy. As a well-known training base that has cultivated many famous tennis players, the IMG Tennis Division, which is backed by IMG, operates 20 tennis tournaments around the world, and has also signed almost all well-known tennis players, including Federer, Nadal, Li Na, etc.
Screenshot of the official social platform.
Shell financial reporters logged on to the official social platform of IMG Tennis and saw that Li Na was also in the "Highlight Moment" highlight photos.
In the above match, Zheng Qinwen's performance amazed everyone, and Marion ·, the current vice president of WME-IMG's tennis division, recalled the scene: "I happened to be there, and the coaches who were there watched the whole match, and they all came to me and said, you must come and see, that Chinese girl is amazing!" ”
At that time, Li Na had just won the French Open and won the Super Five Tour championship, winning the sixth title of her career. Li Na's performance also allowed IMG to see the huge commercial value of Zheng Qinwen. In this way, the 11-year-old Chinese girl successfully embarked on the path of professional athlete and within two years of signing with IMG, she had her first sponsor: Nike.
The sponsor "collectively" swiped the screen late at night, and the commercial value is expected to catch up with Gu Ailing
After Zheng Qinwen won the Olympic Games, not only the Chinese people were proud and praised him, but the sponsors also started a collective "carnival" mode.
At 0:21 a.m. on August 4, Beijing time, Zheng Qinwen confirmed that he won the championship, and Ant Group released a poster of Zheng Qinwen as the "Ant Group Chasing Light Ambassador" on its official public account, with the text "Only by bravely chasing the light can we become the most dazzling light" and "We will continue to work together in the future, and we will support you all the way".
At the same time, Lancôme also "seconds" to promote the popularity, and posted an advertising picture of Zheng Qinwen holding the "Lancôme Little Black Bottle" on Weibo, with the text "At this moment, invincible!" The eternally fearless, fiery Queen Wen".
At 1:16 a.m., Bawang Chaji released a poster on the official WeChat public account, congratulating Bawang Chaji's "Health Ambassador" Zheng Qinwen on successfully winning the gold medal in tennis women's singles. Make History" is displayed in large print. At the same time, the Shell financial reporter found at 4 pm on August 4 that the poster had become an opening screen advertisement on Weibo.
At 2:40 a.m., Yili announced that on August 4, it would light up the LED of Beijing Sanlitun Tongying Center with a celebration advertisement by Zheng Qinwen for one hour to celebrate the historical moment.
In addition, less than an hour after Zheng Qinwen won the championship, the Shell Finance reporter saw Zheng Qinwen's endorsement advertisement pushed by Swisse in the WeChat circle of friends. And Nike, which has accompanied Zheng Qinwen for the longest time, has a poster of "Victory Will Answer Everything" in the content released by the official video account, which has caused many people to reprint it in the circle of friends.
The above-mentioned sponsors have not disclosed Zheng Qinwen's endorsement fees, but their commercial value should not be underestimated. According to Forbes magazine's "2023 list of highest-paid female athletes in sports", Zheng Qinwen ranked 15th with an annual income of $7.2 million (including $1.7 million in on-court income and $5.5 million in off-court income).
In the list, Gu Ailing ranked second with $22.1 million in revenue (including $100,000 on-court and $22 million off-court earnings), while the first place was none other than Poland's tennis star Swiatek, who was defeated by Zheng Qinwen in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics, with an annual income of $23.9 million.
Screenshot of Forbes' "World's Highest-Paid Female Athletes in 2023" ranking
According to WTA (International Women's Tennis Association) data as of July 29, Swiatek is ranked No. 1 in the world in women's tennis, with Zheng Qinwen ranked No. 7. With Zheng Qinwen's victory in the Paris Olympics, some analysts believe that Zheng Qinwen has the potential to surpass Gu Ailing and Swiatek in business in the future.
Screenshot of Zheng Qinwen's world ranking on the International Women's Tennis Association.
However, athletes who "fly solo" in the professional market may also be under more pressure, as they have to pay for coaches and individual teams, as well as miscellaneous costs such as airfare and accommodation. A coach of the Hubei provincial team once publicly stated in an interview with the media that athletes who have been training in Europe and United States for a long time want to form a team that includes stable coaches, trainers and rehabilitation divisions, and need at least 3 million yuan a year. According to media statistics, the annual cost of Li Na's team may reach 4 million yuan, and the prize money of the event alone is obviously not guaranteed, and it must rely on commercial sponsorship.
Nowadays, tennis is also a more mature professional sport. According to the statistics of the International Women's Tennis Association, Zheng Qinwen has received $4.6559 million in tournament bonuses in her sports career. For the 21-year-old, bonus incentives and commercial endorsements could pave the way for his tennis career.
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Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter Luo Yidan Editor Wang Jinyu Proofreader Lu Qian