Why is Karatsev not sponsored yet?

smalahove

Hall of Fame
He's not wearing the same as the Adi players, nor the Asics players (the Res8s are def a 2020 release).
And I don't think Adi would allow him to use Asics shoes if they sponsored him, also.

The Lion's not going anywhere, and I'm prob not the only one who enjoys his game and on-and-off-court personality, so there's a win for the company that lands his signature now rather than later.
 

Raul_SJ

G.O.A.T.
Honestly HEAD should hop on him right now. Shoes and Apparel.


Which companies are completely integrated: Racquet, Apparel, Shoes. :unsure:
Off the top of my head.

Head, Wilson, and Prince.

Babolat has racquets and shoes but not an apparel player.
Adidas has shoes and apparel but not a racquet player.
Lacoste and Nike have apparel and shoes but not a racquet player.
 
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408tennisguy

Semi-Pro
Which companies are completely integrated: Racquet, Apparel, Shoes. :unsure:
Off the top of my head.

Head, Wilson, and Prince.

Babolat has racquets and shoes but not an apparel player.
Adidas has shoes and apparel but not a racquet player.
Lacoste and Nike have apparel and shoes but not a racquet player.

Have you not heard of the adidas barricade racquet and the lacoste L20?

Im sure if the companies wanted to, they could throw a similar paintjob on his current racquet
 

Raul_SJ

G.O.A.T.
Have you not heard of the adidas barricade racquet and the lacoste L20?

Nope.

I've owned Barricade shoes but had no idea Adidas made Barricade racquets.
I've owned Lacoste shirts but had no idea Lacoste made racquets.

TW does not even carry Adidas and Lacoste racquets.

 

Raul_SJ

G.O.A.T.
Maybe he is demanding a long term contract. In any case it is extremely unusual for a player to finally qualify after 7 years, at age 27, or whatever he is.

He may be for real and stick around. Or he may be a flash in the pan. Spondors might be prudently waiting for him to produce more results apart from his 5 match Aussie hot streak.
 

La Pavoni

Rookie
I'd guess they will also want to just double-check that there are no complications with his biological passport?

For what it's worth it looks as though he's just had a breakthrough in belief.
 

Harry_Wild

G.O.A.T.
Moving up in the ranking faster then sponsors can react! This Karatsev guy is incredible! Where did he come from again...Challenger circuit? Looks like he been around the main draw ATP forever now! I be very intimdated if I were a top 20 player and have face him!
 

corvax

Rookie
Personally I think he's just a bit superstitious. He's playing well without an apparel sponsor and doesn't want to jinx that. Tennis players' minds are naturally eager to look for reasons why they might not be playing well. Having said that, I think if he's playing well in the gel Res 8s he should probably just sign with Asics.
 

am1899

Legend
Moving up in the ranking faster then sponsors can react! This Karatsev guy is incredible! Where did he come from again...Challenger circuit? Looks like he been around the main draw ATP forever now! I be very intimdated if I were a top 20 player and have face him!

Indeed a meteoric rise. I wonder though if potential sponsors are in as much in a wait and see mode, just as fans are. Not everyone believes the rise will continue on this pace.

That said, my hat is off to him. To do what he’s done already, and done it all so suddenly at such a late age, is highly improbable. People will say “weak era,” and all that. But at some point, the guy deserves some credit.

Really interested to see how his game transfers to the clay.
 

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
I think he could end up in Fila or Asics, but maybe someone like Lotto or Mizuno will get in there. Not sure what sort of sponsorship he would warrant given where he's at - really has entered the spotlight in the past month so very hard to know where his career will go from here - top 10 and a contender or regular top 30-40 draw floater (not that the latter wouldn't be a success).
 

jarko111

Hall of Fame
He wears over-sized shirts, you think? I just can't get an idea of how athletic he is. When I watch him on the small screen (the only way I've watched him) he looks very short and compact. But he's as tall as Federer and Nadal. He could be very built, very muscular, or very lean. Can't tell. Mostly curious because he's got really good speed. Where did this guy come from.. like a blazing comet. It's much more than a fluke obviously.. but it feels calculated in a funny way.
:I'm going to travel the world, training in every corner, and then when I'm 27. during a pandemic.. IT'S ON!"
 

aldeayeah

G.O.A.T.
He wears over-sized shirts, you think? I just can't get an idea of how athletic he is. When I watch him on the small screen (the only way I've watched him) he looks very short and compact. But he's as tall as Federer and Nadal. He could be very built, very muscular, or very lean. Can't tell. Mostly curious because he's got really good speed. Where did this guy come from.. like a blazing comet. It's much more than a fluke obviously.. but it feels calculated in a funny way.
:I'm going to travel the world, training in every corner, and then when I'm 27. during a pandemic.. IT'S ON!"
Dunno about the torso but he looks like he NEVER skips leg day.
 
With his recent behaviour in press conferences, if he continues like that maybe some brand that has nothing to lose can sign him. Certainly not one of the big names, who wouldn't want such a bad publicity.

:cool:
 

aldeayeah

G.O.A.T.
PR doesn't seem his strong suit, no

He's in that lukewarm territory where he's not bad enough to be marketable as a "bad boy", nor PR enough to be marketable as a "role model"

Maybe Adidas will sign him for that sweet, sweet hardbass demographic?

 

corvax

Rookie
Why would he rush to sign with a sponsor now anyway? First of all he should be focusing on his tennis rather than meetings with potential clothing sponsors. Secondly, with every tournament he plays, the more the value of his signature increases. No amount of curt, blunt answers at press conferences will stop a clothing manufacturer from wanting to sponsor a top 20 player, which he undoubtedly will be within a few months at most.
 

Gerco

Semi-Pro
Remember when Davidenko was top 10 and he had no clothing sponsor or some unknown brand? I guess some players just don´t sell.
 

innoVAShaun

Legend
He is still undergoing the extensive background check:

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bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
He wears over-sized shirts, you think? I just can't get an idea of how athletic he is. When I watch him on the small screen (the only way I've watched him) he looks very short and compact. But he's as tall as Federer and Nadal. He could be very built, very muscular, or very lean. Can't tell. Mostly curious because he's got really good speed. Where did this guy come from.. like a blazing comet. It's much more than a fluke obviously.. but it feels calculated in a funny way.
:I'm going to travel the world, training in every corner, and then when I'm 27. during a pandemic.. IT'S ON!"

In shape, ripped, lean, muscular, etc. isn't the same as "athletic" - which is more movement and physical performance. I've seen plenty of guys who were monsters in regards to fitness - had it all - muscles, lean, -- and were average or bad athletes. I mean, they often correlate, but a lot of times don't.
 

corvax

Rookie
Remember when Davidenko was top 10 and he had no clothing sponsor or some unknown brand? I guess some players just don´t sell.
you mean Airness, the greatest sports clothes manufacturer of all time??? Point taken, but tbh that is very much the exception to the rule. judging by what people write about Karatsev online, he is very well liked and people are very interested in him.
 

TennisD

Professional
He wears over-sized shirts, you think? I just can't get an idea of how athletic he is. When I watch him on the small screen (the only way I've watched him) he looks very short and compact. But he's as tall as Federer and Nadal. He could be very built, very muscular, or very lean. Can't tell. Mostly curious because he's got really good speed. Where did this guy come from.. like a blazing comet. It's much more than a fluke obviously.. but it feels calculated in a funny way.
:I'm going to travel the world, training in every corner, and then when I'm 27. during a pandemic.. IT'S ON!"
It just takes time; if you look at his ranking history you'll see that he had several years hovering between ~150-300 (which is objectively, in any professional sport, world class), then dropped way down to 400-600 for a couple of years. Some of that likely has to do with injury, etc... but the reality is that breaking into the top 120 and actually staying there is incredibly difficult. There are hundreds of players that ride that edge for several years, have all the tools to do exactly what he's doing, but when you can't crack it after 2, 3, 4 years then money and motivation begin to dry up and the grind somehow gets even harder. There's a whole world of top 50 guys sitting between 200-400 that just need a good result or three.
 

bluetrain4

G.O.A.T.
He is not marketable.

That very well could be, but not being marketable should mean no endorsement or only a nominal endorsement- so no big checks for wearing or using a certain brand.

But a mere sponsorship? - essentially receiving clothes, shoes, racquets. He's doing enough - SF at a Slam, winning a 500, rank of 27, that you'd think some company would want him to be using their product when people see him do these things.
 
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Babolast

Legend
That very well could be, but not being marketable should mean no endorsement or only a nominal endorsement- so no big checks for wearing or using a certain brand.

But a mere sponsorship? - essentially receiving clothes, shoes, racquets. He's doing enough - SF at a Slam, winning a 500, rank of 27, that you'd think some company would want him to be using their product when people see him do these things.
Good point.
 

smalahove

Hall of Fame
That very well could be, but not being marketable should mean no endorsement or only a nominal endorsement- so no big checks for wearing or using a certain brand.

But a mere sponsorship? - essentially receiving clothes, shoes, racquets. He's doing enough - SF at a Slam, winning a 500, rank of 27, that you'd think some company would want him to be using their product when people see him do these things.

Exactly. If I was brand manager at Adidas or Asics, I'd send over the full package, just as a courtesy. There's always a time for endorsement talks later.
 

smalahove

Hall of Fame
Here's the answer :)

“I was in the locker room packing my bag after the match and Mischa just asked me if I needed some t-shirts and I said 'okay'. I also play with adidas so I took it. I had a contract with adidas five years ago so I still had plenty of clothes, but they were not the latest model. Maybe he saw that I played with the old ones."

This is not a literal rags-to-riches story – Karatsev’s old kit was still holding up – but his career, like his shirts, has definitely taken a turn for the better in the past couple of months. “I don’t really mind which model shirts I play with. But I also think Mischa probably had too much.”

Despite his rapid rise to being one of the hottest players on the planet right now, expect to see Karatsev unpaid and in adidas for the immediate future. Because apparel manufacturers typically finalise budgets and lock in endorsement deals in the fourth quarter, the Russian’s breakout in Q1 of 2021 hasn’t yet been fully rewarded.

“Since the ATP Cup and the Australian Open, we’ve had plenty of offers, but we’re waiting for a bigger offer,” says his newly signed agent Pierre Christen. “A few clothes brands have been in touch. He’ll be worth more if he finishes the year in the Top 20 or 30.


 
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