Tennis stars take over ESPN Fame 100 list

By Jonathan Scott Jun 26, 2017
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Tennis stars take over ESPN Fame 100 list

Roger Federer, of course, leads the way.

ByJonathan Scott

Published Jun 26, 2017

ESPN's vaunted Fame 100 roster was released recently, and tennis stars make up a solid tenth of the entries.

That's 10 overall rungs on this ladder of 100 athletes, including (in descending order) Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Kei Nishikori, Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Caroline Wozniacki and Eugenie Bouchard. Their individual and collective showings ring as quite impressive given the mammoth followings in team sports such as basketball, American football, soccer, baseball and hockey.

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What matters at the outset with click-baiting lists such as these are the methodologies in play. For ESPN's Fame game, Forbes' recent highest-earning athletes list was pulled in immediately, which makes sense given that both lineups feature the same top four sportsmen, namely Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi and Federer, in that order.

The perspectives of international journalists were considered, as well as more variables and data points. From the horse's mouth: "The data for each athlete in the pool was then fed into a formula created by ESPN director of sports analytics Ben Alamar that weighs athletes' endorsements, their following on the social media Big Three (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) and Google search popularity, producing a comparative ranking system.

To the surprise of none, Federer reigns on ESPN's Fame roster among tennis players. Unlike the likewise recent Forbes list of top earners among sportspeople, Williams finds herself hardly alone in representing women, coming in at No. 19, second to No. 16 Ronda Rousey of mixed martial arts celebrity.

Among other ATP leaders, Nadal appears at No. 9, Djokovic at No. 12, Nishikori at No. 20, Murray at No. 32and Wawrinka at No. 42. WTA reps also include Sharapova at No. 23, Wozniacki at No. 87 and Bouchard at No. 93.

Suffice it to say, Federer likely gets the most global reach given his heralded sponsor alliances. Though it is he who receives an accompanying feature story to buttress his clout, each of these 10 stars continues to show the fight and bite to take their careers and personal brands to new heights in coming weeks, months and (oh yes) years. Next up to that end: Wimbledon.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.