With more than 230,000 Instagram followers, it’s no wonder Rachel Stuhlmann has been dubbed tennis’s 'number one influencer.’ First branded with this title by Outkick, Stuhlmann has since embraced the honour and is determined to continue "spreading love” around the game. Speaking to GiveMeSport Women, the social media sensation opened up on how she first became interested in tennis, why she chose not to pursue the game professionally and how she’s dealt with negative comments over the years. 

How did Stuhlmann first get into tennis? 

Growing up as a triplet, Stuhlmann and her siblings were told to each pick a different sport when they were younger as their parents wanted them to avoid competition with one another. 

To this day, Stuhlmann doesn’t know exactly why she choose tennis but she quickly fell in love with the sport and began to idolise several of the game’s most renowned stars.

"I really loved Rafael Nadal and still do,” she admitted. “I had a poster of him on my wall when I was little. I also really loved Serena Williams, she was my favourite.” 

Rachel Stuhlmann

Could Stuhlmann have turned professional? 

Having taken lessons as a child, Stuhlmann was nationally ranked on the USTA’s Junior Circuit and went on to play NCAA Division I collegiate tennis. 

A professional career beckoned and while Stuhlmann maintains she had the talent to reach the top, she decided that the time it would take her to make it big was not worth the sacrifice. 

"I knew I was good enough and could eventually get there,” she stressed. “But I thought the reality was that it would take me five to seven years to get to the top and I didn’t want to live the lifestyle that came along with playing in small cities among other reasons.” 

How did Stuhlmann become a tennis influencer?

At this stage, however, Stuhlmann had no steadfast desire to pursue a career as an influencer and instead set about writing on various subjects related to tennis.

"I always had ideas and thoughts around the game that I wanted to share, so I hired a website designer and started writing a series of articles. 

“The articles were about a variety of topics — fashion in tennis, comparing tennis players to their basketball counterparts, writing about some of the players' stories, and so much more.”

The articles were well-received and this naturally led to a plethora of opportunities to work with various brands. 

Rachel Stuhlmann

"A tennis software company reached out to me to help spearhead their tennis content show. I travelled to many places, including overseas and interviewed tennis players at professional tennis tournaments. 

"I also did a variety of other work with different companies in professional tennis- media, broadcasting, marketing, sales, tournament sponsorships and partnerships, player relations, events, commentating, sports talk radio, and much more.” 

During this time, Stuhlmann posted frequently on social media and began building up her personal social media presence, which has led to a dedicated following that is now bigger than many of tennis’s leading professional players.

"I started modelling and working with different brands and it’s been such a blast ever since,” Stuhlmann emphasised.  "Everything that I do within the game is all under one umbrella and that’s me and my brand. I love it.” 

How has Stuhlmann dealt with hate comments? 

While Stuhlmann relishes her job as an influencer, she has been subject to some trolling over the years and conceded that it was difficult to deal with such comments initially. 

"Generally, I have received a lot of love from everyone and it has been amazing. Early on in my career, I was bullied by a couple of people but decided to not let their words get to me and to be myself —  it was one of the best decisions that I ever made.

"As I continue to grow across all platforms, I will admit that it’s not always a beautiful world and everyone doesn’t just love each other. Like anything, some people say nasty things and it gets to me. I’m a person, but I have a great support system and faith to never go to a dark place.” 

Check out Rachel Stuhlmann on Instagram and on Twitter here

You can find all the latest tennis news and rumours here. 

QUIZ: How well do you know Emma Raducanu?