I quit tennis to take over the game as its sexiest influencer… this sport can be hot and fun
RACHEL STUHLMANN has opened up on what she has brought from her old career as a tennis pro and into her new one as a tennis influencer.
Stuhlmann, 31, swapped the tennis racket for modelling and hopes to follow a similar footpath to that of Paige Spiranac.
“Tennis and golf are very similar sports,” she said during an interview with Maxim – who named Spiranac the “Sexiest Woman Alive” in 2022.
“I respect what Paige (Spiranac) has done for the sport of golf so much!
“We have similar stories, and I aspire to continue to push the sport of tennis forward while being unapologetically me.”
But while her inspiration for her chosen career path may have come from an outside source, she wants to forge her own unique brand and experience for tennis.
On her goals, she told the New York Post: “I want to bring attention to this sport in a positive way.
“There are a lot of girls kind of like me in golf, but there’s nothing really intense in tennis. And I’m like, ‘you know, you can be yourself, you can look a certain way and still be fun around this sport.’
“I want to do photoshoots and show that tennis is cool and that it can be hot and fun.”
Stuhlmann played tennis professionally at a college level while at the University of Missouri and received national rankings in both singles and doubles events before swapping the racket for a career in modelling and journalism.
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And despite the profession behind she opened up on what she had gained from her time as a tennis pro.
“I loved being an athlete! Playing college tennis taught me a lot of qualities: time management, work ethic, and resilience,” she said to Archysport.
“I was super disciplined with my training and exercise routines, and once I was done playing in college, I transferred that into my professional career.
“Now, instead of preparing and training for big tennis matches, I focus on everything that is going on in my professional life and how I can best present myself for all the work that I do within the sport.”
She has already amassed a following of over 282,000 on her Instagram page, while she has over 100k more on Twitter and TikTok.
Stuhlmann even opened the door to a possible collaboration with Spiranac, also offering to teach her about tennis.
She added: “Someone told me that she wants to play tennis. I want to play golf. I’m like, ‘I will give you lessons.’”