"Surround yourself with people looking after you and not trying to make money from you" - Maria Sharapova shares valuable advice for athletes

Maria Sharapova has a great deal of experience with not just being a professional athlete, but equally importantly, the aspects that come along with it. Among these aspects is an athlete's brand image and managing business or endorsement deals. Sharing her advice with upcoming athletes on the same, the Russian tennis great highlighted the importance of surrounding oneself with the right people to guide them through the process.

Elaborating on the same, Sharapova stressed that playing at the highest level in any sport forces athletes to make major financial investments. Thus, when brands come calling with big paychecks, athletes find it hard to say 'no.'

Having said that, Sharapova, who was one of the most marketable athletes in the world during her playing days and is still a brand favorite, explained the importance of having strong guiding forces in one's team.

"It takes all the strength in the world and very smart and knowledgeable people to help guide you and help you understand [which deals to make], especially when you’re young because you don’t know," Maria Sharapova said on an episode of The Glossy Podcast.

The five-time Grand Slam champion further pointed out that it is often difficult for athletes to understand the business of brand endorsements and deals and what people on the outside really want from them.

Having said that, Sharapova believes it is extremely important for professional athletes to include people in their inner circle who care about them and are not motivated to make money out of them.

"It’s hard to have a real grip on the business [of brand deals], and to understand what people really want from you and how authentic it is," Sharapova continued.

"Listen to the people that you’re close with, particularly when you’re young. You have to surround yourself with strong people that are looking after you and not trying to make money from you."

The two-time French Open champion revealed that the key to her financial success was being surrounded by "someone that protected her."

"One of the reasons I was able to save money and feel like I could make smart investments in the future was because I had someone that protected me," the 35-year-old added.

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"Choose partners that will further help elevate who you are" - Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova retired from tennis shortly after the 2020 Australian Open.

Maria Sharapova went on to add some more thoughts on the matter, further advising athletes who are looking to build their brand image to be associated with team members and business partners who will help them improve.

"Be smart with people you align with, and choose partners that will further help elevate who you are," the Career Grand Slam winner said.

Additionally, she also opined that partnerships that may not be very financially attractive at the beginning but have strong personal foundations are the most important for an athlete, particularly at the early stage of them building their brand.

"Relationships that maybe start as smaller deals, but have a very strong foundation that will put in marketing dollars to elevate you as a human, might be worth more than taking a big paycheck from a company that doesn’t have a lot of marketing spend," Maria Sharapova added.

Sharapova recently graced an event for luxury fashion brand Moncler, one of the major brands she is associated with as a board member. She even caught up with former long-term rival Serena Williams at the same event.