Criminal Sentence 654: Heartwarming Story, Not Heartwarming Grammar

From an online article (about a girl with cancer):

"Tinoco, like so many others, got the opportunity to partner with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and her wish was the same as so many other tennis fans across this globe; she wanted to meet Roger Federer."

The grammar problem concerns this comparison:

"her wish was the same as so many other tennis fans..."

This sentence compares "wish" to "fans." I understand why in casual writing everyone makes this type of mistake, because the two correct ways sound or look weird:

"her wish was the same as that of so many other tennis fans..." (sounds stuffy)

"her wish was the same as so many other tennis fans'..." (apostrophe looks weird)

Still, I prefer the right grammar.

You can avoid the problem by writing it differently:

"she wished for what so many other tennis fans have wanted"