Tag Archives: Li Na

Garbiñe Muguruza: The Highest Paid Latina Athlete in the World

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Garbiñe Muguruza is the highest-paid Latina athlete…

Forbes has released its list of the 10 Highest-Paid Female Athletes, with the 24-year-old Spanish-Venezuelan professional tennis player and former world No. 1 making the cut.

Garbiñe Muguruza 

Muguruza comes in at No. 4 on the list, behind Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens.

Muguruza, who won her second Grand Slam at Wimbledon last year, earned 11 million during the tracking period.

Muguruza’s title at the All England Club meant a big bonus from sponsor Adidas and also helped her land a deal with Rolex. Evian signed Muguruza this year for a multiyear, global marketing campaign. Other sponsors include Babolat, Beats by Dre, Maui Jim sunglasses and Caser Seguros insurance.

In all, the 10 highest-paid female athletes banked $105 million from prize money, appearances, royalties and endorsements in the 12 months ending June 1, 2018. The tally is down 4% from last year and 28% from five years ago. Blame the retirements of popular endorsement stars like Li Na, Danica Patrick and Ana Ivanovic. Another dent: The off-court income of Maria Sharapova, who was the top-earning female athlete for 11 straight years, is still down more than 50% after the fallout from her 16-month suspension for taking a banned substance. Sharapova ranks fifth this year at $10.5 million.

Here’s the complete list:

1, Serena Williams — Total earnings: $18.1 million
2. Caroline Wozniacki — Total earnings: $13 million
3. Sloane Stephens — Total earnings: $11.2 million
4. Garbine Muguruza — Total earnings: $11 million
5. Maria Sharapova — Total earnings: $10.5 million
6. Venus Williams — Total earnings: $10.2 million
7. P.V. Sindhu — Total earnings: $8.5 million
8. Simona Halep — Total earnings: $7.7 million
9. Danica Patrick — Total earnings: $7.5 million
10. Angelique Kerber — Total earnings: $7 million

Muguruza Reaches Her First-Ever Grand Slam Quarterfinal at the French Open

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It’s another first for Garbiñe Muguruza …

The 20-year-old half-Spanish-half-Venezuelan tennis player’s Cinderella run continues at the French Open.

Garbiñe Muguruza

Following her upset victory over World No. 1 Serena Williams in the second round, and her easy win over Slovakia’s Anna Schmiedlova in her next match-up, Muguruza returned to Roland Garros to face French wildcard Pauline Parmentier in the fourth round.

And the rising star in women’s tennis had little difficulty seeing off the challenge from Parmentier, winning 6-4, 6-2 in fading light on the tournament’s center court to advance to the French Open quarterfinals on Monday morning (AEST).

It’s Muguruza’s first-ever appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, a feat she’s accomplished in only her ninth major. She matched her previous best—a fourth round appearance at this year’s Australian Open—at this tournament, before besting it with her big win over Parmentier.

Muruguzu will next meet Maria Sharapova, who overcame Australia’s Samantha Stosur in three sets. The former World No. 1 is considered the favorite to win the tournament after so many upsets in the women’s draw— with the three top seeds – Williams, Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska – all failing to make the fourth round, the first time that has happened in the Open era.

Nadal to Participate in the Inaugural Edition of the International Premier Tennis League

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Rafael Nadal is preparing to join a league of champions in Asia…

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star has signed up to participate in the inaugural edition of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

Rafael Nadal

Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Serena Williams are all confirmed for the exhibition league that begins in late November in Asia.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and Li Na are not set to take part in the IPTL.

Indian doubles specialist, Mahesh Bhupathi, came up with the idea for the league, which will hope to be as successful as cricket’s Indian Premier League.

Tennis legends’ surprising comebacks

“The IPTL is the first-of-its-kind Asian tennis league with a unique concept bringing together the best tennis players from across the world on the same platform,” the IPTL said in a news release.

 

The format sees five teams, based in Mumbai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and a yet to be confirmed city, play home and away matches. The matches are best-of-five sets but incorporate different sets — men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and legends.

The official players list includes Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras in the legends category.

Questions still remain about how many matches the top players will play and how players will manage their schedules leading into January’s Australian Open.

Over the years, players have complained about how long the tennis season lasts — between 10 and 11 months — and the IPTL is scheduled to run from November 28 to December 20.

Nadal Named the Top Seed at the Australian Open

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It comes as little surprise… But Rafael Nadal has been listed as the top seed at the Australian Open, which gets underway on Monday at Melbourne Park.

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, recently extended his points lead over Serbia’s Novak Djokovic after clinching the title at the Qatar Open.

Rafael Nadal

Djokovic, the defending champion, is the No. 2-seeded man, followed by David Ferrer, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro and 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer at sixth.

The other Latino seeds include Spain’s Nicolas Almagro at No. 13, Spain’s Tommy Robredo at No. 18, Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and No. 27 and Spain’s Fernando Verdasco at No. 32.

On the women’s side, Serena Williams has been made the top seeds at the Australian Open.

Defending champion Victoria Azarenka is No. 2, followed by Maria Sharapova, Li Na, Agnieszka Radwanska and former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in sixth.

The only Latina to earn at ranking at this year’s Australian Open is Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro at No. 16.

The 32 seeds were only altered twice from the rankings, both because of injuries. No. 29-ranked Jurgen Melzer is not playing due to a left shoulder injury and Maria Kirilenko, who would have been seeded 18th, has a left knee injury.