Maria Sharapova Case
Sports Marketing
-Ezra Ok
1. What were the key steps in the early stages of Maria’s career development?
Yuri Sharapov first noticed his daughter had skill and took her to attend tennis clinics. It was at these clinics that Martina Navratilova, a renowned champion, observed Maria playing and commented, “She has talent”, inspiring Maria’s parents to seek a world-class coach for their daughter in the United States. Yuri and Maria arrived at IMG’s Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy where she eventually received a scholarship.
She signed with Gavin Forbes, who then assigned his duties to Max Eisenbud.
Max Eisenbud made it his priority to differentiate Maria from Anna Kournikova, a similarly talented Russian tennis
…show more content…
For Sharapova, the Nike and Prince rackets endorsements helped build the hype and expectations for a star. After her win in Wimbledon, Eisenbud was able to capitalize on Sharapova transforming from the underdog to a world-class talent and obtain endorsements from companies like Motorola. A world of opportunities opened up as Sharapova’s image finally evolved into a brand that could generate money.
3. The case spends several pages on the Tennis sector of Sports. Summarize in a few paragraphs the key elements of Tennis industry.
Tennis is a racquet sport which millions of people in the U.S. alone play. Tennis differs largely from other sports because it is played between two players or two teams of two players as opposed to the large teams of other major sports.
In the professional realm, the two organizations, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), run the tennis show. The most popular events organized are the Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. These events attract millions of tennis fans with the top tennis players around the world. Professional tennis players in the WTA earn income through winnings at tournaments. Income could also be earned by exempt players who sign a contract
As a Professional Tennis Coach I want my students to be the best they can be in tennis, i use that mentality to try their hardest in everything they do. I also want to create future tennis pro’s, by training them everyday they can develop their game to get at least a college scholarship.
Gender inequality in professional tennis is a real and alarming issue, from the pay gap between mens' and womens' tennis players to the low media coverage of women's professional tennis. This issue even goes as far as how differently tennis commentators discuss and analyze mens tennis as opposed to how they discuss and analyze womens tennis. When commentators discuss men's tennis they solely focus on the skill of the players, but when they discuss women's tennis they place more importance on the appearance of the female players, rather than their skill. This instance of gender inequality in professional tennis is further exacerbated by the differences in advertisements for male tennis players and female tennis players. The advertisements involving male tennis players display their athleticism and tennis abilities, whereas the advertisements including female tennis players are appearance-focused, with the females often wearing little clothing. This is corroborated by the popular belief that focusing on the physical appearance of female athletes is the only way in which generating money from women's professional sports is distinctly possible (Fink, 2015, p. 338). Female professional tennis players train just as hard as the men do, thus the gender inequality that exists in the sport is not necessarily a result of how women perform on the court. It is rather a result of how society perceives women playing in professional sports overall, which the mass media is partially to blame
I asked Emma Nuzzi what she thought her biggest accomplishment was, she replied with “I would say becoming a very good tennis player.” Emma Nuzzi started playing tennis at age twelve, which she thinks was a late age. When Emma was in the seventh grade she told her gym teacher that she wanted to play tennis she then replied to Nuzzi with “Maybe.”, this did not encourage Emma at the time because her gym teacher was the varsity tennis coach. Emma did not let this get to her too much because she practiced and became the player that she is today.
Winning the Girls 14s National Tennis Championships gave Natalia Kochkodan the chance to make a difference in the world and she jumped right onto that opportunity. In the 18 years that she has lived since the win, she has created a non for profit organization that assists disease stricken children in playing sports, has donated over 10 million dollars to several children’s charities including Ball For All and Project Fit
How many times have you driven past your local tennis courts and seen them filled with happy kids running around and smiling? Probably more than once. Tennis is a popular sport, played all over the world and loved by many. However, more people should play this wonderful sport. It can be played at any age, and at any walk of life, be ye teenager or 65 year old lady. In fact, everyone should play tennis due to its development of physical fitness, mental health, and social skills.
During the earlier years of my tennis career, about the age of seven, my parents had learned of a nearby organization at Watkins Park Maryland. The organization was known as the Prince George’s Tennis and Education Foundation. It was here where I began to make my largest strides in my life, both academically and athletically.
Tennis is more than just a sport for Damien Heller-Chen, it is a lifestyle. When he was six years old, he got introduced to tennis and found it as a very enjoyable sport. Many sports are intense and competitive, which is why Heller-Chen chose tennis, as he fell in love with a less competitive sport. Heller-Chen enjoys the feeling of having control in the game. He feels empowered since he is center stage of the game and not on a team. Tennis takes dedication as he practices for eight to 14 hours a week at The Boars Head.
“Oh no, please don’t tell me this is happening. Mom, can I just skip this tournament?” I pleaded, “There is absolutely no hope for me.” Being the dramatic person I am, I lamented the imminent end of my tennis career. I went into the tournament with an expectation of failure. I started the match by accidentally whacking the ball over the fence, tripping on my own feet rushing to end the point. The little confidence I had when going into the match dissipated within a few minutes. I continued the match pondering how to angle my racket to put spin on the ball. Every time I failed, I blamed it on the high skill level of my opponent. Unsurprisingly, I lost in an hour. When looking back on that match, I realized that it could have gone differently had I not brought myself down before. My lack of
Purpose Statement: The purpose of my speech is to inform my audience about the history of tennis and about tennis itself.
Serena Williams is the number one women’s tennis player in the world. Her outstanding skills have earned her 50 million dollars through just prizes; that is more than any other athlete in the world (“Serena Williams Fast Facts”). Her fast reflexes, amazing skills, and outgoing personality have made her known as a powerful woman and an inspiration to many young girls. This African-American woman is almost six feet tall and is made of steel. With her long, muscular legs and her quick arms, no wonder she is number one!
more than sell the product. The athlete actually becomes a ‘human brand’ in his or her own right.”
As we all know, America is a nation of sports enthusiasts. Most Americans participate is some kind of sporting event, either as a spectator or as a competitor. In the pantheon of great American sports, there is one that stands out. It has been called the great American pastime. Yes, that great sport known as tennis. Tennis requires a mastery of many skills to be able to play competitively, but the primary skill needed to win in tennis is the serve. The serve is the primary offensive weapon used I tennis, because it is the only time when a player gets to put a ball into play. The player controls the speed, the placement, and the spin of the ball. With proper procedure, the serve can win many points and games for the server. The technique
The intended target market for Tennis world will be tennis players as well as potential people who have the interest of playing tennis. This will be men, women both young and old.
She is the Captain of her tennis team and is constantly working to try to improve her abilities.
Tennis dates back many centuries ago, and is believed to be played by ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks. It has evolved over the years, and today the tennis style is tremendously different from previous centuries. Many different tennis styles have been adapted over the years, and today tennis has become a more aggressive sport. It is very different from when the players use to ding the ball back and forth across the net. Today tennis is played with a lot more force and it has become a more engaging sport from the sport it used to be just a century ago. The William Sisters, Venus and Serena Williams, have had a huge impact on the game of tennis. When they peaked to fame it changed the way everyone saw the game of tennis.