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Zheng Qinwen, who created the history of Chinese tennis, once again proved his commercial value. Before the Paris Olympics, Zheng Qinwen had already secured cooperation with nearly 10 major brands. After winning the championship, many corporate brands also sent their best wishes to Zheng Qinwen on social media.

Zheng Qinwen won the championship (Photo source: Xinhua News Agency)

In fact, in 2023, Zheng Qinwen was already on the Forbes income list.

On December 21, 2023, Forbes magazine released the list of the highest-paid female athletes in the sports world in 2023. Zheng Qinwen ranked 15th with a total income of 7.2 million US dollars. This is also the second time that a Chinese female tennis player has made it onto the Forbes income list after the women's tennis Grand Slam winner Li Na.

In 2013, Li Na was in the top three of the Forbes list of female athletes at her peak, ranking third with an income of $18.2 million. In 2023, Zheng Qinwen earned $7.2 million, including $1.7 million from tournaments and $5.5 million from endorsements. Skier Gu Ailing ranked second on the list.

Zheng Qinwen's commercial value is closely related to his personal achievements and efforts.

Zheng Qinwen's professional career began in 2013, when she signed up for an open tournament for young tennis players around the world held by IMG Academy at the age of 11. IMG Academy is a famous training base that has trained many tennis stars. IMG is one of the largest and most extensive sports entertainment marketing management companies in the world.

Zheng Qinwen made a splash in this open tournament and successfully signed a contract with IMG, thus starting his career in professional tennis.

At the age of 13, Nike began to become Zheng Qinwen's sponsor.

In August 2020, Zheng Qinwen officially embarked on his journey as a professional player, with an initial world ranking of 630. Since then, Zheng Qinwen has participated in nearly 30 competitions.

In the 2021 season, she won the W25 Hamburg Station in Germany, the W60 Czech Station, the W25 Funchal Station in Portugal and other championships.

In 2022, Zheng Qinwen advanced to the top 16 in her first French Open and was elected WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2022. As a result, Zheng Qinwen's commercial value skyrocketed.

In August of the same year, Zheng Qinwen became the "Chasing Light Ambassador" of Ant Group. In subsequent games, the logos of Alipay and Nike appeared together on Zheng Qinwen's jersey. Brands such as Yili also extended olive branches to Zheng Qinwen. She also won first-tier player-level sponsors such as professional sports supply brand Gatorade and professional tennis brand Wilson. In February of this year, Zheng Qinwen won the runner-up of the Australian Open. In April, Bawang Tea Princess officially announced that Zheng Qinwen became the brand's first "Health Ambassador". At present, Zheng Qinwen has at least 10 brand sponsorships: Nike, Alipay, Rolex, Wilson, Swish, McDonald's, Yili, Gatorade, Bawang Tea Princess, Lancome, etc.

Some media analysts said that after Zheng Qinwen won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, her income might surpass Gu Ailing.

It is worth noting that on the Forbes 2023 list of highest-paid female athletes, 9 of the top 10 are tennis players, which shows the commercial recognition of tennis.

Some industry insiders believe that brand sponsorship focuses on the vitality displayed by athletes and the good qualities such as "striving, striving, and never giving up" displayed in sports events. Zheng Qinwen's confidence, frankness, and international style both on and off the court are his commercial value.

Jimu News is compiled from The Paper, National Business Daily, and China Business News.

(Source: Jimu News)

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