Tennis has some of the most powerful and well-paid celebrities in the world. Like, duh.
Forbes just released their annual "
Celebrity 100" list which ranks celebrities based on
"earnings, then factors in media metrics like Google hits, press mentions as compiled by Factiva, TV/radio mentions from Lexis/Nexis and the number of times an A-lister appears on the cover of more than 50 consumer magazines." Wow - that's so scientific!
Anyway, Roger Federer, Maria "Shriek"apova, Serena Williams, and Justine Henin all made the list this year. Here's their ranking and what the mag had to say about our ballers:
Fed - (rank: 23) The world's top tennis player won $10 million in prize money in 2007—and another three grand slams. He recently signed up for 10 more years with Nike, one of the biggest deals ever in tennis.
Maria - (rank: 61) After the recent sudden retirement of Justine Henin, Sharapova moved to the top of the WTA Tour rankings for the fourth time in her career. She won her third Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open in January. In the past 12 months, she has renewed her endorsement deals with Canon and Tag Heuer, and she'll be getting double what they previously paid. She also has signed on to be a face of Sony. Also in her portfolio of global sponsors: Colgate-Palmolive, Motorola, Nike and Pepsi.
ReRe - (rank: 69) The younger Williams sister is back with three tournament wins so far in 2008 after chalking up only three wins in the three previous years combined. She signed a $2 million deal with Hewlett-Packard that adds to her hefty endorsement income, and she partners with Kraft, Nike and Wilson. Her $19 million in career prize money is the sixth highest among female tennis players.
Justine - (rank: 81) Henin shocked the tennis world with her sudden retirement in May. She is the first Tour player to quit while ranked No. 1. She had a phenomenal 2007, winning 10 of the 14 tournaments she played in and became the first woman to snag $5 million in prize money in one season.
*Via Down the Line!
(images via Getty)
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