Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu pip Big 3 of men's tennis as most marketable tennis players

Serena Williams has been ranked the second most marketable athlete in the world, behind only soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo. The report, compiled and published by SportsPro, also ranks Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu as the second and third most marketable tennis players, and sixth and 12th, respectively, among the most marketable athletes in the world.

The trio of Williams, Osaka, and Raducanu beat out the Big 3 of men's tennis - Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer - in terms of marketability. While Nadal is ranked highest among male tennis players at 16th, Federer took the 23rd spot and Djokovic had to settle for 46th place.

A surprising name to emerge in the top 20 of the world's most marketable athletes is Simona Halep, who was ranked 15th overall and fourth among tennis players. Garbine Muguruza (30th) and Bianca Andreescu (32nd) are the other tennis players in the top 50.

As per the eligibility criteria, an athlete must be active from December 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022, to be eligible for selection on the Most Marketable Athletes of 2022 list.

Serena Williams was inactive for most of that period before making her comeback in June, shortly before Wimbledon. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, whose retirement after the US Open led to great buzz, jumped from 21st place on last year's list by SportsPro to second place in 2022.

Osaka fell from second place last year to sixth this year, while Djokovic fell from ninth place last year to 46th this year. According to a report by SportsPro, the Serbian great's COVID vaccination-related controversies at the Australian Open and US Open, which split fans and also affected the brands he is associated with, taking his sponsorship deal fallout with Peugeot as an example, contributed to his valuation on this year's list.

This year's method of determining the most martekable athletes also took into account factors well beyond an athlete's on-field performance and social media brand value. The athlete's personal brand in terms of story and authenticity, the appeal of their personal brand to a range of demographics, audience engagement, and audience sentiment were also considered key to their marketability.

Additionally, an athlete's economic strength, which is a combination of their financial strength as well as ROO (Return on Objective around social and environmental properties), was another massive factor of consideration.

How Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and Emma Radacanu scored on each factor to be ranked among most marketable athletes in the world

Serena Williams at Western & Southern Open - Day 4

According to the report, Serena Williams scored 16.85/20 on brand strength, which was the highest percentage contributor to her overall score. She also scored 24.02/30 on economic strength and 27.12/50 on audience strength/reach, giving her an overall score of 67.99 and thus second place on the list of most marketable athletes in the world.

Serena Williams continues to be one of the most sought-after athletes for brands, and her place as one of the GOATs in her sport contributed to her brand strength.

Meanwhile, Osaka scored a total of 51.62 points and Raducanu scored a total of 45.91 points on the list. Federer fell from 13th to 23rd place this year, while Nadal jumped from 26th to 16th place, with a very strong brand strength value helping his cause.