Sponsorship Changes for 2026!

ChrisJR3264 said:
I hope alcaraz ditches Nike.
They can keep sinner
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I think Nike is about to reveal Alcaraz's logo, so idk if it'll happen anytime soon.

But I hope that at the very least Nike goes back to making (good) player exclusives like they did for Rafa/Fed. I'm still thinking about that atrocity they put Alcaraz in for the French this year... A different color of the same style everyone else is wearing does not do them justice.
 
mpournaras said:
Wonder why HEAD is trying to court him? Either way another Blade loss. How did Wilson let this happen?
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Probably strategic, if the new spin racquet takes off then they'll probably aggressively go after current Bab players and maybe it's a long play to get the future future players using it. So spend tons on juniors and take that market from Bab and Yonex.

At this point, the Blade sells itself and I feel like Wilson is also keeping the 18x19 Blade in their backpocket for if Blade sales ever dip.
 
mpournaras said:
I would if I were Nike. Honestly anyone not named Sinner or Alcaraz or Lorder Tien (he’d be great for Nike) needs to have their contracts reduced. No one watches the 250s any more and no one is personable enough to sell stuff without being in GS finals
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Casper Ruud: hold my salmon…
 
Chairman3 said:
Wonder if it's the new 97
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I thought the same thing initially, but it’s the old (current) paint job so it’s probably just the regular 100. I don’t think they would be troubled enough to use that pj for the 97, especially since Sinner has the new paint Speeds in his hands.
 
mpournaras said:
he was in Nike too and they cut him loose at the right time as well.

They want a Li Na again not someone who sacrificed their body to get to only 31.

For the record I like Zhang he’s just not close to a blue chip sponsor which is what Nike is generally looking for when they bet early.
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He improved post Nike arguably - and Nike are pretty much dumping anyone who isnt Sinner and Alcaraz on the men's tour so its hardly shocking that Shang etc... can get more money from Asics or whoever else (see Musetti)
 
They really don’t need anyone else but j suspect they’ll still try with upcoming juniors.

Adidas having Michelson and Learner is good for them
 
aus89 said:
He improved post Nike arguably - and Nike are pretty much dumping anyone who isnt Sinner and Alcaraz on the men's tour so its hardly shocking that Shang etc... can get more money from Asics or whoever else (see Musetti)
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I am actually curious how/why guys like Shapo or Karen can still hang on with Nike, they would probably get better deals elsewhere.
 
arthurli22 said:
I am actually curious how/why guys like Shapo or Karen can still hang on with Nike, they would probably get better deals elsewhere.
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I assumed they just signed really good deals, I mean Shapo is even still in the Vapor X.
Korda I believe Vapor Pro 1

Could also explain why Nike is pruning their portfolio, they signed all these people to deals that have all basically fizzled out.
While the two top earners are also the top 2 players, by miles.
 
Dae18 said:
I agree. Shapo, Khachanov and Korda should have been dumped long ago, more so Shapo and Khachanov. I can see Shapo go to Lulu and Khachanov go to Adidas
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...why? Korda is the outlier in this group, but Shapovalov and Khachanov have both only had 1 year outside of the top 20 since 2018, and for Shapovalov that was largely due to injury, and both are regularly going deep enough or getting compelling enough matchups to be featured matches, lots of highlights and hype, etc... No idea why you'd dump either of those players
 
MasterSlice74 said:
What about Bublik? He's been using a blacked out PA98 for a while now
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I think I heard in an interview (maybe Nothing Major? idk I forgot) that he'll be announcing his new racket sponsorship soon - probably this upcoming year. I think he said something along of the lines that he wanted to be respectful to Technifibre and fulfill his obligation to them. Which doesn't make the most sense to me since he switched his bag and stopped stenciling his racket, but I think he was just trying to wait and keep the spilt amicable.
 
TennisD said:
...why? Korda is the outlier in this group, but Shapovalov and Khachanov have both only had 1 year outside of the top 20 since 2018, and for Shapovalov that was largely due to injury, and both are regularly going deep enough or getting compelling enough matchups to be featured matches, lots of highlights and hype, etc... No idea why you'd dump either of those players
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I think that may be not the problem of the players, but the issue of Nike. Put it straight, it seems from a sponsorship perspective, Nike is cutting down the deals. Unless you are winning slams (Sincaraz) or have a very good shot on it (arguably Holger with his potential, but I think he will still leave Nike in the near future), you are no longer getting a very good deal from Nike.

And those good enough players, like top 20, they can always get better deals like Fritz with Boss and Tiafoe with Lulu. I remember someone confirms that actually it is Tiafoe dumped Nike but not the other way round and actually his deal with Nike by then still had quite a few years remaining. So basically Lulu bought him out.
 
arthurli22 said:
I think that may be not the problem of the players, but the issue of Nike. Put it straight, it seems from a sponsorship perspective, Nike is cutting down the deals. Unless you are winning slams (Sincaraz) or have a very good shot on it (arguably Holger with his potential, but I think he will still leave Nike in the near future), you are no longer getting a very good deal from Nike.

And those good enough players, like top 20, they can always get better deals like Fritz with Boss and Tiafoe with Lulu. I remember someone confirms that actually it is Tiafoe dumped Nike but not the other way round and actually his deal with Nike by then still had quite a few years remaining. So basically Lulu bought him out.
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I think they're obviously investing at the very top of the game (same on the women's side) and everyone else has to fight it out over performance bonuses, but at the same time I think it's also probably more complicated than that and they likely have a ton of various popularity and impact metrics that they rely on: if it was all about winning slams then Kyrgios would have been out on his ass at Nike ages ago but he's not, and despite not having played much (any?) significant tennis over the last two years, he was still on of the faces of Nike Court until very recently. It's easy to see why they'd let someone like Fritz go (not really an extrovert nor, with respect, is he terribly exciting to watch so not in the Nike mold at all), and I do understand that Lulu really pursued Tiafoe (and a few other players as well) very aggressively. As for whether or not these deals are better...I dunno, it's tough to say. Google says Fritz's total annual sponsorship take is roughly 500K USD, but that includes whatever he's got going on with Head, Motorola, Chipotle, etc... is Boss half of that? Maybe, but it's hard to imagine Nike wasn't earning him around that much with performance bonuses, etc... I guess we'll never know, but still.
 
MasterSlice74 said:
What about Bublik? He's been using a blacked out PA98 for a while now
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babo-bublik? babo-lik? babublik? ;) ;) ;)

i know he's not in the same conversation, but i've heard karue sell's tf contract is winding down. do you think he will stick with tecnifibre?
 
TennisD said:
...why? Korda is the outlier in this group, but Shapovalov and Khachanov have both only had 1 year outside of the top 20 since 2018, and for Shapovalov that was largely due to injury, and both are regularly going deep enough or getting compelling enough matchups to be featured matches, lots of highlights and hype, etc... No idea why you'd dump either of those players
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Cause it’s a business in the end. Sure they won titles recently but that doesn’t mean they will sale what’s out there. Like another user said, results plays a factor too.
 
Moonballballer said:
IMG-1291.jpg
Why is Novak playing golf in Nike shoes?
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Because he wants to.
 
mpournaras said:
he was in Nike too and they cut him loose at the right time as well.

They want a Li Na again not someone who sacrificed their body to get to only 31.

For the record I like Zhang he’s just not close to a blue chip sponsor which is what Nike is generally looking for when they bet early.
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Nike has gold medalist Qinwen

qinwen-zheng-china-tennis-nike-6.jpg
 
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