Former
Romanian tennis player Ion Tiriac advised
Jannik Sinner to be cautious about
easy earnings and new endorsements. The former French Open doubles champion
emphasized the importance of not getting distracted by financial matters.
Sinner
recently won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open, and his popularity
has soared both in Italy and worldwide, making him highly attractive to major
companies and sponsors, especially considering he is only 22 years old.
According
to Tiriac, it is crucial for Sinner to work with only a few companies that can
reward him well, rather than signing numerous contracts with different entities: "For
me, Sinner should be sold dearly to a few companies. Let's say, a maximum of
five. Because otherwise how can it give them satisfaction? Today 70% of
earnings come from extras, not from bonuses. Also for this reason one of the
fundamental points is the management of the star,” the Romanian said.
“Priority
to the Slams, of course, which will soon be at least five with Indian Wells,
because if a tournament offers $100 million in prizes, why does it still have
to be an ATP Masters 1000? Today I say that a mega tennis star earns too much,
but it's the usual supply and demand argument. And the exclusivity of the
character," explained Tiriac.
"When
he was with Riccardo Piatti and they came to me asking for advice, I
immediately noticed his human qualities. He was available, humble, listened and
was ready to get things done. Not only. An Italian, today, changes the face of
world tennis,” he added.
"Because you
have a great sporting tradition, a past and you know well how to affirm and
enhance a sport. He must not be enticed by easy earnings, a super-paid
performance and must manage the calendar as best as possible. Today, Sinner is
worth $50 million a year. He can easily get to $100 million," Tiriac concluded.