MOSCOW, January 7 (RIA Novosti) – Russian athlete Maria Sharapova, 26, ended up on top of Forbes magazine’s list of business-savvy sports figures released Monday.
Forbes pointed out to tennis star’s status as the biggest-earning female athlete in the world with $29 million of income from mid-2012 to mid-2013.
Most of it came through contracts with companies such as Nike and Porsche.
The “entrepreneurial bug” also prompted her to launch a candy line last year, raking in $6 million on the Sugarpova sweets, the business weekly said.
Sharapova is the only Russian on the 30 Under 30 in Sports list dominated by Americans.
She was also the only athlete in the top 3: The runner-up was Muthu Alagappan, 23, a basketball analytic, while the third place went to lawyer Jonathan Amoona, 29, who worked on NFA and NBA disputes.
Forbes compiles annual 30 Under 30 lists in 15 categories, from finance to food and wine, marking young talents with entrepreneurial acumen who are “impatient to change the world.”
The Florida-based Sharapova, currently #3 in WTA ranking, has won 29 singles tournaments, including four Grand Slam titles.
In 2005, she became the first Russian to rank as the world’s top tennis player, according to the WTA.
