Tiger Woods inspired Maria Sharapova’s brand strategy, reveals agent Max Eisenbud on Andy Roddick’s "Served" podcast

Eisenbud has worked with the former No. 1 for over two decades, and discussed how they maximized brand partnerships without taking away from her focus on the court.

ByLiya Davidov

Published Feb 27, 2024

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As teenage Maria Sharapova went from aspiring pro to Wimbledon champion, brand interest and partnership deals became the name of the game, and juggling those committments were essential to her longterm success.

“The key is how do you maximize your earnings but still win,” explains Max Eisenbud on the latest episode of the *Served with Andy Roddick* podcast.

Eisenbud has worked with Sharapova for over 23 years. Now a Vice President of IMG, he shepherded her through five Grand Slam victories and a rise to No. 1, a mantle she first claimed in 2005, less than a year after winning her first Wimbledon title at 17 years old.

As the two sought to build her brand profile, they drew inspiration from none other than golf sensation Tiger Woods, himself at the peak of his powers in the mid-2000s.

“Mark Steinberg was a colleague of mine who worked on the 13th floor [at IMG], so I spent a lot of time with him to figure out how Tiger was managing his deals. What he'd like to do is take three weeks of the year to do his shoots, he would do five shoots a week in those weeks.”

Sharapova and Woods were both at the top of their respective sports in the mid-00s, with the former famously winning Wimbledon at just 17 years of age.

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Eisenbud immediately got to work with Sharpaova's father Yuri to figure out where in Maria’s calendar was best suited for sponsorship committments, putting red lines through weeks when the then-teenager was scheduled to prepare and play WTA tournaments.

“We found that we have sixteen days a year that would not interrupt her becoming a great tennis player. Yuri said to me, ‘go make me as much money as you can in sixteen days.’”

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Eisenbud continues to employ this strategy with players like Li Na, Emma Raducanu, Ajla Tomljanovic and Madison Keys. In another anecdote, he told Roddick exactly how Li, who went on to become China's first Grand Slam singles champion, also became the first Nike signed player to wear patches on clothes.

Tune into the next episode of Served with Andy Roddick on T2, Tennis Channel’s second network, starting this Sunday night, March 3.

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