‘Salty’ Aussie star Daria Saville fumes at tennis influencers amid scarce brand deal reality

Aussie star Daria Saville has called out ‘marketing teams’ behind the rise of tennis influencers, something she said is costing players dearly.

Former top-20 tennis player Daria Saville said she’s “salty” that WAGs and influencers are getting brand deals over “actual athletes.”

In a video posted to her TikTok on Tuesday, Saville called out “marketing teams” for primarily targeting wives and girlfriends of tennis players and influencers for brand campaigns — and claimed she isn’t the only pro who feels that way, the New York Post reports.

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“Let’s talk brand deals for a second. Tennis aesthetics are in right now, right?” Saville, 31, said in a “GRWM” video, captioned, “Brands are choosing WAGs over actual athletes … why?”

“It’s all over the place, but female tennis players are not getting those brand deals. It’s actually tennis WAGs that fit into the ‘aesthetics’ rather than us sweaty tennis players.”

Saville, who didn’t name anyone in particular, explained that there is “surely space for both WAGs and female tennis players” when it comes to brand deals, “but I feel like we always get left out.”

Daria Saville has taken aim at tennis influencers taking brand deals off players. Image: Getty

Morgan Riddle — the girlfriend of Taylor Fritz, the highest-ranked American on the ATP Tour — is arguably the most popular tennis WAG.

The influencer, who has nearly 1 million followers across Instagram and TikTok, has multiple brand deals and has been open about capitalising on Fritz’s tennis career.

The Aussie went on to question if the “sweat life” isn’t as appealing as the “glamorous life” of a WAG.

“I’ve spoken to a few influencer WAGs, and they’re surprised that we don’t get the same opportunities,” she continued. “Is it that athletes are not as relatable as WAGs to the audience?

“ … I’ve got a personality and it’s salty right now … Do marketing teams think tennis players are too niche compared to a WAG? Is that the whole glamorous life compared to sweat life? Is it more inspiration to be a WAG than a female athlete?

“Honestly, it’s mind blogging to me that brands are pickling influences for their campaigns during Grand Slams. And I’m definitely not the only female tennis player that feels that way. Marketing girls, why is that? Sorry if I cam across salty AF. I’m done here.”

Saville added that she was unsure if she should post her “vent session,” but she did after reaching out to some of her friends who are WAGs for approval.

Daria Saville says she feels tennis players are being increasingly left out of brand deals. Picture: Michael Klein

Fellow WTA player and world No. 70 Eva Lys commented, “Yes. This is a great video. [I] was asking myself that as well. It’s incredibly tough (if [you’re not Top 10).”

Saville also responded to people in the comments, including someone that said, “Okay but Morgan Riddle is much more fun than Taylor Fritz.”

“She is! It’s true!” Saville wrote. “But both can coexist haha! I love her vlogs!”

The 27-year-old influencer, who has been dating the American since 2020, rose to social media stardom by chronicling her life and outfits while travelling with Fritz on the tennis tour — including nightmare moments and travel mishaps.

Once dubbed “the most famous woman in men’s tennis,” Riddle has been featured in “Vogue” and other publications.

She collaborated with Wimbledon and the US Open, among other tennis companies and brands, for social media posts.

The couple has worked together on many occasions, including campaigns with Heineken during the 2024 US Open and the luxury fashion brand, Boss.

Tennis star Taylor Fritz’s partner Morgan Riddle has rose to fame in recent years. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

During an appearance on “The Squeeze” podcast with Tay Lautner last month, Riddle recalled “a clique of older wives and partners” in the tennis community making fun of her for posting on social media and “capitalising” on Fritz’s career as a content creator.

“I don’t know if this is true, but I’ve been told by people on the tennis tour that when I was first posting TikTok [videos] a couple years ago, there was a clique of older wives on the tour and they would send my videos in their group chat and just make fun of me.

“So I definitely got a lot of backlash, both from within in the tennis community and the fans — I think because it was different. And I’m calling attention to myself. I guess people expected me to sit in the box, be relatively private and not capitalise on my partner’s career. And I kinda came in guns blazing. I was like, ‘well, f – k that,’ and posted whatever I wanted to.”

This article originally appeared on the NY Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as ‘Salty’ Aussie star Daria Saville fumes at tennis influencers amid scarce brand deal reality