Most tennis players rely on sponsors for their annual supply of racquets, shoes and equipment needs; among the more notable examples being Nike NKE +0.4% and Adidas.
Narrower brands are also joining in, such as Cotton On who sponsors 2022 Australian Open champion Thanasi Kokkinakis.
1. Financial Support
Professional tennis players have many lucrative sponsorship and endorsement opportunities available to them as a source of income. Their chances of finding such partnerships depend on a range of factors such as their current ranking and lifetime prize money earnings – in general though, top 10 players on both sides will attract the most lucrative opportunities.
One of the more prevalent forms of tennis sponsorship involves sportswear companies. These brands provide clothing and accessories that not only benefit their athletes’ on-court aesthetics but also contribute to functional advantages for them. Established players in this niche market exist alongside newcomers.
Racket manufacturers are an essential category of sponsors. This is due to the fact that top players rely heavily on their equipment for optimal results; an example being Dunlop who have sponsored talents such as Jack Draper as well as investing in its future through initiatives like Mouratoglou Tennis Academy. Furthermore, companies who provide various tennis-related products such as Wilson who have signed agreements with major stars like Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic are also major donors.
Colleges provide numerous tennis scholarships to student-athletes who excel academically during high school. These merit aid grants can be combined with athletic aid to create an inclusive financial package that covers an athlete’s full collegiate experience.
Cost of higher education has skyrocketed over recent years, making it essential to seek every available source of funding for higher education. An athlete with national-level potential should make full use of these programs so as to reduce financial strain on his family while making college dreams become a reality.
Players may look into ways of increasing scholarship options through bequests or donations made directly. Non-profit organizations such as the American Platform Tennis Association (APTA) may allow donors to do this; their offerings for donors include cash gifts and life insurance policies that leave bequests.
2. Brand Exposure
Sponsoring a tennis player provides exposure for any company or organization, with players wearing their logo and advertising the product or services on social media – potentially drawing in new customers for your products and services. Depending on your sponsorship agreement, companies or organizations could also get exposure through print ads related to tennis events where players compete or simply by having their products showcased by those same athletes.
Sponsorship opportunities available to junior players range from equipment manufacturers and tennis academies to governing bodies of the sport. These organizations can assist junior players with researching potential sponsors who meet their interests as well as networking opportunities that lead to long-term career-building relationships within their respective industry.
Sponsoring tennis players and teams can be very lucrative, particularly for top-ranked players with large followings on social media. Sponsorship deals often span multiple years with benefits including merchandise sales, appearances and event invitations; companies or organizations may even cover travel expenses of an entire tennis player and team to events.
Clothing and footwear sponsors that are popular among professional tennis players include racquet manufacturers, sportswear brands and shoe companies. These sponsors make sure players have access to cutting-edge technologies essential for succeeding at such a highly-competitive sport as tennis.
As tennis’ popularity increases globally, more brands are investing in it. Albano cites how this trend has lead more apparel companies to add tennis-specific collections to their existing product lines and appeal specifically to consumers who embrace tennis-inspired lifestyles.
Even after retirement, many former ATP and WTA players continue to have endorsement agreements with apparel, shoe, or racquet companies. Some agreements may simply be token gestures from companies who previously sponsored them; other contracts provide retired stars with steady income from remaining involved with sport.
3. Recognition
Tennis sponsorships not only bring financial benefits; they can also help players build recognition and respect in their markets. Many sponsorships allow players to afford coaches, physiotherapists and trainers for training as well as travel costs and court rentals for practice sessions. As more recognition a player achieves through their sponsorships, more likely they are to attract future sponsors.
Food and beverage entities, online trading platforms, software companies and national (and international) car manufacturers all make up part of tennis shirt sponsorship, from food and beverage providers to trading platforms and software developers – as well as some brands exclusively providing high on-court earners such as Asics who currently provide apparel, shoes and rackets to Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori respectively.
Notably, shirt sponsors change from year to year as sponsorship contracts expire and new ones come on board, meaning it is unlikely a player would wear the same shirt throughout a tournament.
Roger Federer recently switched clothing brands after leaving Nike in 2018, opting for Uniqlo apparel while still sporting Nike shoes. Other top players, like Nishikori, also changed from Lacoste to Asics for both clothing and shoes.
Non-traditional sports apparel brands, like ROKiT and BOSS are beginning to make inroads into tennis sponsorship with multi-year deals with women’s top 30 and USOpen finalist Leylah Fernandez respectively.
As expected, big name tennis brands will always have an established presence in the tennis world, including Nike, Adidas and Babolat for apparel as well as Wilson Yonex and Head rackets. But younger players are attracting greater sponsorship deals due to increased social media interest in tennis as well as greater brand visibility through social media exposure; companies may provide them with equipment and apparel in exchange for increased exposure.
4. Visibility
Visibility is often taken for granted when it comes to sponsorship and endorsement deals. Doing it right requires creating a consistent brand, knowing who your audience is, using effective communication techniques to convey your story, engaging the right people effectively, and making an impressionful statement about yourself that resonates. There are various avenues available to enhance visibility such as media, social media platforms, speaking engagements, awards ceremonies, thought leadership efforts or relationship building activities; when properly done this should result in long-term impactful partnerships.
Top-ranked players often make more from external sponsorships and endorsement deals than from prize money alone, often surpassing prize money earnings altogether. Roger Federer brings in over $86 million annually through sponsorship agreements from Rolex, Mercedez-Benz, Credit Suisse, Wilson Barilla Moet Chandon Lindt among others – with Naomi Osaka Serena Williams Novak Djokovic all close behind when it comes to earnings from sponsorship deals.
Nike and Adidas remain dominant players when it comes to tennis apparel, shoes and racket sponsors; however, that may change with top women tennis athletes opting for different brands such as Free People or Donna Vekic’s Uomo Sport line; Ben Shelton recently switched from Nike to On with reports surfacing that he may switch over to Wilson in 2023 as well.
As players seek to increase their visibility among potential tennis sponsors, it is vital that they consider how they can increase visibility with current sponsors as well as researching and pitching potential new ones. A solid plan and support from relevant individuals must be in place in order to make this goal achievable.
Breaking into the top ten rankings can be pivotal to lower-ranked players’ sponsorship opportunities and income generation; sponsorship can provide much-needed aid with game expenses such as hiring physiotherapists or covering travel expenses.
Players may also take advantage of their success to promote causes they care about, which will amplify their profile further. Doing this can build community support while simultaneously expanding your exposure among key audiences – an approach which creates lasting memories from playing career to legacy.