Those who obsess about the commercial potential of the US Open tennis champion are missing the wood for the trees
There was, to my ears, one discordant note in the awards ceremony for the US Open women’s tennis final. It came when Andrea Lisher, JP Morgan’s head of Americas, client – whatever on earth that job title is about – presented Emma Raducanu with a cheque for $2.5m (£1.8m).
This number was read out, loud and proud. I don’t recall Sue Barker ever presiding over any mention of money at Wimbledon. Until that moment, I don’t think anyone on this side of the Atlantic, nor our Emma, had given the prize money a second thought. It had all been about an apparently humble young woman – her mesmeric sporting excellence and a triumph for the ages.