China’s Li Na set to earn more than Maria Sharapova

Chinese tennis star Li Na is set to take over from Maria Sharapova as the highest-earning female athlete in the world. Big-name sponsors are flocking to her in an attempt to boost their profile in the lucrative Chinese market.

The 29-year-old became the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament when she triumphed at the French Open in June. Since then her profile has skyrocketed and she has been inundated with requests. Bloomberg reports that since her victory in Paris she has signed no fewer than seven deals worth between $2 million and $3.5 million each annually.

The Telegraph goes further and claims that even before winning the French Open, brands were cottoning on. It says Li has agreed sponsorship deals worth $42m this year, and explains that brands like Mercedes-Benz, Rolex and Haagen Dazs are all throwing money at her in the hope of gaining a foothold in the expanding Chinese market.

Such is her popularity that Li is now set to overtake her Russian tennis rival Sharapova in the earnings stakes. According to Forbes, Sharapova, who has not won a Grand Slam for three years, but possesses a slender physique and elegant legs, pulled in $25m over the last year, twice as much as any other female athlete. Last year she signed the most lucrative deal ever for a sportswoman - an eight-year tie-up with Nike worth $70m.

Second on the list of high-earning sportswomen was another blonde European tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki, who earned $12.5m.

But now Li is set to eclipse her rivals. Terry Rhoads, a former Nike marketer who gave Li her first deal, worth $25,000, in 1998, told the Telegraph: "Two years ago, she could not buy a sponsor... Now she is the only person with a Nike deal who can wear patches from other sponsors on her clothes."

Her success could partly be down to her maverick tendencies. In 2008 she quit the Soviet-style Chinese sports system and set up on her own. That was a move that allowed her to control her own finances, and the following year she signed up with commercial giants IMG Tennis. Her agent is now Max Eisenbud, who also happens to represent Sharapova.

But despite going it alone, Li retains a high profile in China. The final of the French Open in Paris was watched by 116m people in China and after she won, her picture appeared on the front of the People's Daily newspaper. ·