If you are a tennis fan living under a rock, perhaps you do not know that Maria Sharapova will make her return to professional tennis in April. The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart Germany is her debut stage. A former champion, Maria is certain to draw the crowds and television viewership. The latter being a most lucrative statistic. I checked the event site for tickets today and sure enough they are sold out starting April 26th thru the end of the event. As a business decision, and make no mistake tennis is a business, the strategy is nothing short of brilliant.

The Grey Veil

While there are thousands of viewpoints on whether Maria should be welcomed into a tournament before her suspension is over or at all, one thing is certain, Wednesday, April 26th will be a banner day for tennis. Salt in the wound, Maria is entered as a Wild-Card into the event before her suspension is over. As such she is not allowed on the grounds of the event until her 1st match the day her suspension period ends. The event has also “delayed” her first-round match schedule to accommodate her. The ethical basis of this decision and Maria’s return is under scrutiny by her peers, tennis leadership such as the French Tennis Federation and fans but what is done is done.

Tennis Rules the Sports World for a Day

In the sporting world, tennis is not top-dog although pinnacle players like Serena, Venus, Federer and Nadal are their own empires. The sheer fact that they are recognized by first name only speaks to a Madonna like star power. Maria fits that mold. While Maria owns a record that any professional player would be proud of, her results pale in comparison to the aforementioned group. Her tennis stats do not hold up as Serena holds a record 23 Grand Slam titles to Maria’s total 5, Federer 18 and Nadal 14. Despite this fact, Maria has achieved iconic status garnering loyal fans that adore her steely persona and competitive might. Perhaps more relevant is that Maria wins an Oscar for marketability.

As of March 25th, Maria had acquired 5.44 million Twitter followers moving closer to Swiss Maestro Roger Federer at 6.85 million. Maria’s bankability is undeniable. She has capitalized on her tennis platform and is a top-tier international brand. Maria’s brand draws crowds and where crowds gather, money follows. In 2015, she was ranked Forbes No. 1 highest paid female athlete and she held that position for eleven years. However, in 2016 while she served her suspension, Serena captured the top spot.

Maria has been known to fight for equal pay particularly at the Grand Slam level. It is true that the men put in more time on-court playing a 3 of 5 set format versus 2 of 3 for the women. Maria argued that she and other peers like Serena draw crowds, sell tickets and as such deserve equal pay.  In 2015, ESPN reported that tickets for the U. S. Open women’s singles final sold out before the men and a Twitter tag, #SaveUpFor Serena was born.

It’s not personal, it’s business…

The cliché, “money makes the world go around” is no stranger to tennis. But the resulting “press” may be more significant for the sport. Speaking with Pete Ziebron of Replay the Point, he provided the following insights on Maria’s return. On April 26th, “Tennis will be in the spotlight for that day…it’s a huge story for tennis and is a huge international sports story…Maria will bring world-wide attention to tennis and people will follow her progress.” The Sharapova “rock-star” effect and the momentary elevation of the sport may indeed be the silver-lining on what some perceive a dark cloud.  

Upon her return, most people with an internet connection will hear about the Stuttgart event and social media will generate a slew of Maria based “clicks, likes, shares and tweets.” People who had only ever heard of the slams may learn that there is more to tennis than just the 4-majors. In the context of tennis philosophy, even in a loss you have to take the positives and a world-wide spotlight on tennis is surely that.