Despite the fact she’s yet to win a major tournament, tennis beauty Anna Kournikova is among the highest paid players in the game. The 19-year-old Russian netted £20,000 a day last year, taking in a whopping £7.2 million, almost exclusively from lucrative endorsement deals including spots with Adidas and luxury watch company Omega.
“Firms pay big bucks to Anna because she gets her picture in the paper every week,” says former number one player and commentator Jim Courier. “But tennis players are unquestionably overpaid. They work hard, but there are a lot of people out there also working hard and making $10 an hour.”
Only Andre Agassi and Gustavo Kuerten outranked the Russian beauty, who beat even Pete Sampras in Ace magazine’s annual rich list. Number one champ Martina Hingis also lagged behind, as did the Williams sisters who managed a comparatively paltry £4 million each.
One tennis insider defined Anna as “a glorified model,” adding: “She hasn’t proved herself on the tennis court, but nobody cares because she is great to look at. She has marketed herself better than any other sports star I know. But if the public get bored with her she might have to start winning some games.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
