It’s no secret that tennis is one of the most expensive kinds of sports and building a competitive tennis player costs a fortune. However, the promising players, who show outstanding results, can get financial support from sponsors, investors, national federations and funds. Evidently, being sponsored by a prestigious world known brand is the dream of any tennis player. Big brands start investing in a player as usual from 12 years, but if the player is an exceptional athlete, they can support him from the early beginning of a career, even at 9 or 10. In tennis, the first two endorsement contracts for players come from global companies, who make tennis rackets, sports shoes and tennis clothing, they invest most of all in tennis players’ development. Leading tennis clothing sponsors are Nike, the American sports goods giant, Adidas, the German manufacturer, Lacoste, Asics, Uniqlo, whose brand ambassador is Roger Federer and Fila. The most prominent racket sponsors include Wilson, the most popular one, Head, Babolat and Yonex. All these tennis sponsors are an integral part of the tennis business.
Learn what it takes to find a right sponsor in tennis.
There is a certain set of qualities, which a sponsor is looking for in a young athlete, his rankings and results are just one aspect of it. The sponsor’s managers want to support the players who will represent the brand well, ones who will become a role model for others to look up to, players who have a good reputation, respect for the sport and their opponents, and ultimately love tennis. The team around the player is very important as well. Finally, one more key aspect is the ability to work and develop together in order to build a long-term sustainable partnership.
The tournament results and high achievements are taken under consideration as well, the player should stand out from other players, have long-term potential and ideally start showing real results. Players definitely need to be visible and are required to play a certain number of matches and tournaments per year. Though, some younger players might not be able to play that many tournaments and focus more on training, so there is not a strict requirement for juniors, but as soon as they become professionals they need to play at least 11 tournaments per year and represent the brand in the best way.
In tennis, the first two key points in a valuable contract are being young and have success, then you start working on your social media and feel comfortable with that. It is not only about what is on the court anymore, it’s also how you can help the company grow, and your posts can help with that.
As an example, Coco Gauff, as a 16-year-old player, had huge marketing potential currently and became one of junior players to sign legitimate contracts at a younger age. She showed sensational results, winning the WTA single and qualifying for Wimbledon at the age of 15. No wonder, huge sponsors, such as Head and New Balance started supporting her financially. Maria Sharapova, another outstanding player, was noticed by a sports agent and signed a valuable contract with giant brand Nike at the age of 11. You may ask, what is the best way to contact these huge world-famous sponsors and get sponsorship in tennis?
Well, the answer is pretty simple, as they have the similar structure as any other company. Each big brand has a tennis department that is responsible for choosing promising tennis players. Create a prioritized list of the companies you want to reach and send them an email with your bio, which includes the rankings, prominent results, the details where you are based and practice, videos of your strokes or whole matches. Write shortly but convincing why they need to choose you and what benefits you can bring to their brand.
Reach out, don't be afraid
You can find the general number and call them, asking to connect you to the tennis department in your area. Don’t be afraid and prepare your speech thoroughly, probably it’s your chance to get noticed, at least try this option! In addition, if you go to the company’s website who you want to sponsor you, they will most likely have a sponsorship application that you should fill out. You can try to reach the sponsors through social media as well, as it’s a big platform of communication and advertising collaboration nowadays. Instagram, for example, currently stands at the top of the list of social media channels for brands due to the visual aspect of it.
Update: One parent informed us, he did just that after reading the article and reached out to Babolat on Instagram. They reply with the link, to officialy send request. In case you are interested, click on the following link and submit the form.
Babolat Endorsement
Networking - Online and Offline
Another recommendation is to create useful social connections with people, related to tennis, so you can ask advice in this area. You can hire a sports agent as well, who knows how “to sell” a talented player in a better way and will seek sponsorship opportunities, representing you. Just make sure that he is a professional agent with a solid reputation and past achievements. The player should be in contact with a national federation or local tennis organizations as well, as they have more chances to know about programs and opportunities that might be of your interest.
It’s also important to know that only a few most talented players receive full sponsorship or free gear, for most of the players only discounted options are offered, though it’s better than nothing, as big sums of money can be spent on tennis rackets, strings and sporting clothes.
Final Words
However, the most useful advice to get a sponsorship is to work hard, improving both tennis technique and mental skills in order to stand out from peers or older players and get noticed by sponsors. For sure, not everything depends on you, finding a valuable sponsor is a great luck, but, as they say, fortune favours brave and hard working athletes. The best example is Carlos Alcaraz, who signup with an agent at the age of 12. At least do your best, or as Nike encourages, “Just do it!”