5 tennis players who have their own businesses, ft. Roger Federer and Naomi Osaka
Top tennis players, both male or female, are popular all over the world and enjoy celebrity status for their exploits on court. However, the career of a sportsperson is relatively short and hence, most players begin looking for alternative and additional income sources, which are more long-lasting.
Several tennis stars venture into business to take care of their financial needs after their playing career reaches its end. Most of them even begin exploring those options while they are still active as players.
In this listicle, we will take a look at five such players who own businesses.
#5 Serena Williams
Conquering the world through her exploits on tennis courts came easy to Serena Williams. The 24-time Grand Slam champion also decided to start a business named Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm that holds investments in a good number of startups.
She also has interests in the fashion industry, having launched a sustainable clothing line called “S by Serena” in 2019. She did so by joining her two other fashion ventures, Aneres and Signature Statement, a designer apparel line and a jewellery line, respectively.
#4 Novak Djokovic
Djokovic is quite possibly the greatest tennis player of all time, having won 24 Grand Slam titles and amassed more than 400 weeks as the World No. 1. He is the owner of a vegan restaurant named Eqvita and also has an 80% stake in a Danish biotech firm named QuantBioRes.
Djokovic most recently came up with a new health product called Sila, which was launched in Australia earlier this year. It comes in the form of electrolyte hydration cubes and is also available in three different flavors.
#3 Rafael Nadal
Nadal has decided to give back to the game that gave him everything by having four eponymous sports academies in his hometown Mallorca, Kuwait, Greece and Mexico. The biggest one of them is in Mallorca with 26 tennis courts and covers around 40,000 square metres in area.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion was recently appointed as the ambassador for Saudi Arabian tennis and has promised to come up with another academy in the country. Nadal also has stakes in luxury hotels, having collaborated with Melia Hotels to launch lifestyle hotel brand ZEL in 2022.
He has invested in restaurant chains TAETL and TOTO with singer Enrique Iglesias and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo as well.
#2 Naomi Osaka
Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, is a successful businesswoman, too. She disclosed in June 2022 that she had teamed up with basketball superstar LeBron James to launch a media company named Hana Kuma. It is a multicultural creative house that has been nominated for the prestigious Emmy awards.
Osaka is also the co-founder of a sports agency named Evolve and is a co-owner of North Carolina Courage, an American women’s soccer club.
#1 Roger Federer
Federer has long been the most marketable face in tennis due to his amiable demeanor, graceful playing style and incredible success. The 20-time Grand Slam champions owns the rights to the “RF” logo, which adorns the caps worn by many tennis lovers all over the world.
Moreover, that logo is used by Uniqlo as it has a long-time partnership with Federer. The 42-year-old also has multiple blue-chip endorsements and other investments, which include a 3% stake in Swiss shoemaker On.
All of that makes Federer one of the wealthiest sportspersons on the planet.