Judy Murray approves Maria Sharapova’s advice to young athletes as she believes the Russian tennis icon was spot on with her words. Sharapova, a former five-time Grand Slam champion, was once one of the most marketable tennis players.
But when Sharapova was very young, she surrounded herself with the right and trustworthy type of people. Later, it turned out that Sharapova made the right choices as she enjoyed a successful tennis career and also managed to make lots of money from her sponsorship and endorsement deals.
“Preach,” Murray said regarding Sharapova’s advice.
Preach. https://t.co/rNrCqRGjOT — judy murray (@JudyMurray) March 2, 2023
Murray approves Sharapova’s advice
Sharapova, who retired from pro tennis after the 2020 Australian Open, did her best to explain the importance of working with the right and trustworthy people.
“It takes all the strength in the world and very smart and knowledgeable people to help guide you and help you understand [which deals to make], especially when you’re young because you don’t know. It’s hard to have a real grip on the business [of brand deals], and to understand what people really want from you and how authentic it is.
Listen to the people that you’re close with, particularly when you’re young. You have to surround yourself with strong people that are looking after you and not trying to make money from you. One of the reasons I was able to save money and feel like I could make smart investments in the future was because I had someone that protected me.
Be smart with people you align with, and choose partners that will further help elevate who you are. Relationships that maybe start as smaller deals, but have a very strong foundation that will put in marketing dollars to elevate you as a human, might be worth more than taking a big paycheck from a company that doesn’t have a lot of marketing spend,” Sharapova said on The Glossy Podcast.
Meanwhile, Sharapova is now very family-orientated. Last summer, Sharapova and her fiance Alexander Gilkes welcomed a baby boy Theodore. Since then, Sharapova has spoken several times about enjoying her new role of being a mom.
