Yonex must sign another top player

[ASH1485]

I am a fan of the brand myself and would like to congratulate Yonex for signing Stan in the right time ( at 27 years old the prime age for a tennis player). His success definitely reflected well on the brand and built a certain hype to its products.

Now the company needs to capitalize on this and immediately sign another top player plus a young gun. If that happens Yonex can compete with the top giants like Wilson, Head and Babolat.

Nalbandian retired, Monaco declined and Hewitt is in his last days. Another male player needs to support Wawrinka and erase this image of Yonex for females only.

Which top player should Yonex go after? A player like Nishikori maybe ( Japanese with high potential)

Thoughts?

 

[SpinToWin]

They have Kyrgios, a promising young gun. Another one they could try to go for is Alexander Zverev (current juniors number one and supposedly with lots of potential, though I personally don't see it).

Bencic on the women's side as a promising young talent plays Yonex (but Yonex is generally well represented on the women's side…)

 

[Fifth Set]

...erase this image of Yonex for females only.
...

Not clear why this is important to you if you're a fan of the brand. The bigger problem is that they are losing even some of their high profile women. Hlavackova switched to Nike clothing and then a Babo stick.

 

[movdqa]

Nishikori.

 

[kimguroo]

I am not sure that they need another male players. I don't see decent male players who fits into Yonex......
Yonex should continue to focus on quality of their products (Always does).
Yonex is the leading company for badminton not tennis.
More and more local stores stop carrying Yonex rackets because of slow sales in US. Even if they sign more players, it might be tough to pass prince company. I prefer to see quality products instead spend $$$ for sign more players which might not help to boost their sales.
Yonex's woz and tomic contracts were very bad for them so they might try to be more serious and slow approach to find players who might fit into Yonex.

 

[dgoran]

They have up and comer Borna Coric too

 

[kimguroo]

Nishikori.

If Yonex wants Nishikori, they should overpay him. that will be only way to sign him. Seems like willson treats Nishikori well because His limited edition rackets were released in Japan. it shows that Willson has great respect to Nishikori. Not many company is willing to make special edition rackets to specific player and release to public especially out of top 5 players.

 

[Fifth Set]

...I prefer to see quality products instead spend $$$ for sign more players which might not help to boost their sales...

This is an interesting thought and I'm kind of conflicted on the issue.

On the surface I agree that it would be better to spend money on product than on sponsorships. The problem becomes that, indirectly, sponsorships finance availability of the product.

Take Volkl for example. I love their racquets. But they have very few big name players. I believe Stefanie Voegele is their only top 50 caliber singles player. The result is that not many people know about them, few youngsters (who tend to look up to their heroes on TV) play with Volkl and not all stores carry them. I worry about the day when Volkl gives up on tennis because it's too hard to compete with the bigger tennis brands.

So, I don't think it matters whether it's men or women, but some reasonable level of "presence" on the pro tour via sponsorships seems necessary. Probably more than what Volkl is doing today but not necessarily as much as Babolat is doing?

 

[eelhc]

I'm a fan of the brand myself (wife plays Yonex)... The best quality control of any racquet brand.

But why do you want Yonex to spend more money to sign a top player unless you want to pay more for their products? Why do you care? It's not like they're about to go out of business.

 

[Fifth Set]

...
But why do you want Yonex to spend more money to sign a top player unless you want to pay more for their products? Why do you care? It's not like they're about to go out of business.

I don't think it really works this way. Racquet prices are basically set by competition. Most top models cost about the same. Increasing sponsorship costs would cut margin - that's why companies like Volkl (owned by a big consumer brand conglomerate with tight financial constraints) don't do more of it.

Yonex overall may be strong, but it's not out of the question that they give up on tennis in 10 years if inadequate marketing results in lower sales. Since they have a strong presence in badminton they could choose to focus there.

Many loved racquet makers and tennis brands, e.g. Fischer, T.A. Davis, have disappeared over the years when they failed to keep up with changing trends. Don't forget we lost Donnay for a while (some argue that they never came back) and almost lost Prince recently with their messy bankruptcy (their fantastic tennis balls were off the US market for over a year).

 

[ASH1485]

I'm a fan of the brand myself (wife plays Yonex)... The best quality control of any racquet brand.

But why do you want Yonex to spend more money to sign a top player unless you want to pay more for their products? Why do you care? It's not like they're about to go out of business.

I am already paying more to have a Yonex rackets, they dont go on sale as say Wilson.

I pay 199$ for a Yonex racket, while a brand new Wilson might be at 179$ or something.

I cared only that the company competes more in the business and marketing via top player is the way to do it.

 

[ASH1485]

This is an interesting thought and I'm kind of conflicted on the issue.

On the surface I agree that it would be better to spend money on product than on sponsorships. The problem becomes that, indirectly, sponsorships finance availability of the product.

Take Volkl for example. I love their racquets. But they have very few big name players. I believe Stefanie Voegele is their only top 50 caliber singles player. The result is that not many people know about them, few youngsters (who tend to look up to their heroes on TV) play with Volkl and not all stores carry them. I worry about the day when Volkl gives up on tennis because it's too hard to compete with the bigger tennis brands.

So, I don't think it matters whether it's men or women, but some reasonable level of "presence" on the pro tour via sponsorships seems necessary. Probably more than what Volkl is doing today but not necessarily as much as Babolat is doing?

I think it matters, Man tennis is the tennis to watch.
Definitely women's tennis isnt getting the same focus. otherwise they would be payed equally, correct?

 

[Dimcorner]

If Yonex wants Nishikori, they should overpay him. that will be only way to sign him. Seems like willson treats Nishikori well because His limited edition rackets were released in Japan. it shows that Willson has great respect to Nishikori. Not many company is willing to make special edition rackets to specific player and release to public especially out of top 5 players.

Yonex can and has made special edition racquets and shoes even... for badminton. :\

They released 3 racquets at the same time (Peter Gade, Taufik Hidayat, and Lee Chong Wei editions). They run about $250 a pop!

 

[Power Player]

If Stan keeps playing at this level, I think Yonex will be fine. Ie - they will get more young guys.

They had Verdasco briefly. I am not sure what top 10 player would switch and sign with Yonex out of the blue, but it could happen.

At the Sony Ericcson there were a lot of yonex racquets being used by players and coaches.

 

[Fifth Set]

...
Definitely women's tennis isnt getting the same focus. otherwise they would be payed equally, correct?

Hmmm, there may be some arguments to favor men's tennis over women's (men are stronger, best of five, less shrieking) but I don't think the money one is a good choice.

There are a number of tournaments with equal pay.

What's more, there are only two male players who make more than Sharapova annually (Fed and Rafa). The top four women athletes in annual earnings are all tennis players. Each one makes much more than almost all the male pros. And the majority of that income comes from sponsorships.

 

[ASH1485]

Hmmm, there may be some arguments to favor men's tennis over women's (men are stronger, best of five, less shrieking) but I don't think the money one is a good choice.

There are a number of tournaments with equal pay.

What's more, there are only two male players who make more than Sharapova annually (Fed and Rafa). The top four women athletes in annual earnings are all tennis players. Each one makes much more than almost all the male pros. And the majority of that income comes from sponsorships.

You didn't get my point, i am not talking about player earnings.

Let me put it this way, if you are a business owner with some money to splash on your marketing dept. Would you rather invest in women's tennis than Men's tennis?

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Did Ana Ivanovic die or something?

 

[vandre]

I am not sure that they need another male players. I don't see decent male players who fits into Yonex......
Yonex should continue to focus on quality of their products (Always does).
Yonex is the leading company for badminton not tennis.
More and more local stores stop carrying Yonex rackets because of slow sales in US. Even if they sign more players, it might be tough to pass prince company. I prefer to see quality products instead spend $$$ for sign more players which might not help to boost their sales.
Yonex's woz and tomic contracts were very bad for them so they might try to be more serious and slow approach to find players who might fit into Yonex.

good points! i don't know if signing pros (outside of fed or rafa) directly correlates to sales; of course, if anyone has any legitimate research to the contrary, i'm listening.

yonex makes the best sticks i've ever hit with so i will keep buying whatever they make next as long as the quality still remains incredibly high. my wife has gotten my old rds's and neither of us have had any of the problems i've seen on this board with racquets from other companies (problems like cracking or splitting at the throat, etc.)

signing wozzy and tomic definitely didn't pan out. again, how many racquets did the wozzy signing really move during her brief tenure?

i could definitely see them being somewhat active in scouting jrs but i don't know if they'll be making a big splash atp signing at this point in time.

i agree the US yonex sales seem to be sluggish, but what concerns me most about yonex is there seems to be a supply problem in the states (particularly with apparel). if tw can't even get any of the yonex AO gear stan the man wore in oz this year then there's a problem.

oh well.......

 

[forthegame]

I must admit, after the Aus Open win by IronStan/StanTheMan/Wawa, my interest got piqued. Prior to that I thought Yonex were weird. They also seemed boxy and plasticky to look at.

Marketing works, I guess.

 

[forthegame]

Any Yonex that compares to the Head Liquidmetal Instinct sorta frames (without the hideously wide beam) i.e. around 300oz, medium power, closed-ish pattern, comfortable feel and not easily pushed around?

 

[Defensive Tennis]

Del Potro after his Wilsons finally break in half?

 

[SpinToWin]

Any Yonex that compares to the Head Liquidmetal Instinct sorta frames (without the hideously wide beam) i.e. around 300oz, medium power, closed-ish pattern, comfortable feel and not easily pushed around?

300 oz?? :shock::shock::shock:

 

[Fifth Set]

You didn't get my point, i am not talking about player earnings.

Let me put it this way, if you are a business owner with some money to splash on your marketing dept. Would you rather invest in women's tennis than Men's tennis?

? Player earnings at the highest level come primarily from "business owners with some money to splash on marketing," i.e. sponsorships!

To answer your question, we are talking about individuals so it depends on the product and the person. If it's truly a unisex product, I will take Fed and Rafa over pretty much any gal. But I will take Sharapova over most of the men. Indeed, that's exactly what the earnings/sponsorship money looks like.

 

[MCallanan]

I love Yonex the way they are. Could care less about this smug view that they're only for woman; tell Stan and Hewitt that. My only complaint is I have to order their clothing overseas now - haven't been able to order new kits here in the states since 2013 Australian Open.

 

[forthegame]

Any Yonex that compares to the Head Liquidmetal Instinct sorta frames (without the hideously wide beam) i.e. around 300oz, medium power, closed-ish pattern, comfortable feel and not easily pushed around?

300 oz?? :shock::shock::shock:

Oops! 300g

 

[Seth]

Del Potro after his Wilsons finally break in half?

I've said this on these boards before! Delpo with a VCore Tour G or VCore Tour 97 would be sweet. With his Argentine pals Monaco and Nalbandian (albeit retired) swinging Yonnies, why not join the bandwagon.

 

[Defensive Tennis]

I've said this on these boards before! Delpo with a VCore Tour G or VCore Tour 97 would be sweet. With his Argentine pals Monaco and Nalbandian (albeit retired) swinging Yonnies, why not join the bandwagon.

Good to see someone else has this opinion. I really think Yonex would suit his game, and like you said a few other Argentines use them. Good call on the VCore Tour lineup as well. I agree.

 

[You Can't Be Serious]

Good to see someone else has this opinion. I really think Yonex would suit his game, and like you said a few other Argentines use them. Good call on the VCore Tour lineup as well. I agree.

I heard Yonex offered him a deal a few years ago but he declined. I would imagine they will keep trying. Same source that told me they were negotiating with Wozniacki four months before signing her which would have been at the U.S. Open a few years ago.

 

[martini1]

Yonex should sign like a bunch of Jr players too. Prob with Yonex is people do not and cannot just use a head/prince/Wilson pj and switch over like that. They will have to use a yonex head shape racket.

 

[SpinToWin]

Oops! 300g

ehhh.... Nope, I don't think so...

Prince has a few of those though.

 

[Homeboy Hotel]

Murray has it signed for 2015 I'm sure

 

[SpinToWin]

Murray has it signed for 2015 I'm sure

Is this a mockery of the underarmour thread on Murray?

 

[stringertom]

Any Yonex that compares to the Head Liquidmetal Instinct sorta frames (without the hideously wide beam) i.e. around 300g, medium power, closed-ish pattern, comfortable feel and not easily pushed around?

EZone Ai98 is the closest but it's a 16x19 pattern and has loads of power. Max beam width is 23mm. Also it's 10-gram heftier too.

 

[Defensive Tennis]

I heard Yonex offered him a deal a few years ago but he declined. I would imagine they will keep trying. Same source that told me they were negotiating with Wozniacki four months before signing her which would have been at the U.S. Open a few years ago.

I didn't know they offered him a deal already. Thanks for the information. Maybe they will keep after him lol.

 

[West Coast Ace]

Yonex should sign like a bunch of Jr players too.

I'm with you. While I like and respect Nishikori and JMDP I don't think either are going to drive sales. Better to take a crack and landing a future superstar.

And I don't think Stan on the men's and Ana on the ladies is such a weak lineup.

 

[martini1]

I'm with you. While I like and respect Nishikori and JMDP I don't think either are going to drive sales. Better to take a crack and landing a future superstar.

And I don't think Stan on the men's and Ana on the ladies is such a weak lineup.

Exactly what Babo did when it first release rackets. They keep signing young players until they hit the jackpot. Of course, the style of racket they offer was very different and the market caught on. However I don't think older consumers would continue to hit with those super stiff sticks, especially when power is not the concern or they rather play with an OS, or got arm pain from them. It adds up.

Yonex's biggest problem is their distribution. Not very strong outside of Japan. And they are so successful in badminton, they end up putting most of their resources in that line. Tons of people I know don't even know Yonex offer tennis rackets, let alone Yonex offering GOOD tennis rackets.

 

[SoBad]

Yonex already has Berankis and Wawrinka - plenty to contend with Wilson, even if Nishikori doesn't switch.

 

[Lukhas]

Talking about up and coming, they did sign Nick Kyrgios earlier this year didn't they? Seems they have a thing for Australia...

 

[boogie]

Living in Asia currently I would like to state that Yonex is very competitive here. A lot of young tennis players I see such as juniors all use yonex especially on the girls side, that being said a lot of guys use yonex as well including myself. Not to mention yonex prices are very reasonable here in Asia you can always find sales where as Babolat and Head are never on sale. Also as mentioned in other posts yonex is the #1 in badminton rackets and gear.
However it is very shocking to me that yonex would let a player such as Nichikori slip away, it was no secret he was a good junior player coming up, if I where the owner of yonex I would move heaven and earth to get Nishikori on the band wagon. They really failed in allowing him to go to Wilson and Uniqlo. Well actually Uniqlo has tons of money, but as far as rackets go you do whatever it takes, a young budding Asian talent like Nishikori should be a walking billboard for Yonex. I have to say though they did well in getting Wawrinka on board.
I agree though when i lived in the US it was all Babolat, Wilson and Head with the occasional Prince thrown in, I remember being the only person with a yonex racket and bag in the entire tennis club.
I do feel it is to bad yonex doesn't make more of a push in the US markets not just because of money but I feel everybody who plays tennis should have the chance to swing a yonex at least once.

 

[dominikk1985]

Talking about up and coming, they did sign Nick Kyrgios earlier this year didn't they? Seems they have a thing for Australia...

Australia is an important target for Japan brands because it is quite Close.

 

[D-Lite]

Yonex already has Berankis and Wawrinka - plenty to contend with Wilson, even if Nishikori doesn't switch.

Berankis is currently ranked outside the top 100 and hasn't had any great results as a senior except for making 1 final in 2012. He did well on the junior circuit so hopefully he'll have some decent results this year. He made the QFs in Munich last week after a bye and a 3 set win over Melzer before falling to Struff.

 

[D-Lite]

Yonex has been my favourite brand for some time now. It's hard not to notice that most of Yonex's player ambassadors are female, however, there are more and more male players and juniors using them. The likes of Kyrgios and Berankis are using the EZone Ai range which is spearheaded by Ana Ivanovic. I did notice that the EZone range to begin with didn't really have a male pro using it where as the VCore range has always been fairly well represented.

 

[D-Lite]

Am I right in thinking that due to the head shape of Yonex frames it would be harder for them to acquire players from other brands who are fussy about using the same racket that they've played with for years? Surely it's easier for players to switch with standard oval head shapes as they can just conceal the frame with a paint job where as Yonex can't exactly do that as easily...

Hewitt has been a great ambassador for Yonex and he's a great example to counter the narrow minded views of people who think that Yonex is a brand that would somehow emasculate a guy for playing with a Yonex stick. However Hewitt and Monaco are at the back end of their careers, and Wawrinka likely only has a few more years left in him unless he pulls a Tommy Haas. I think Kyrgios and Coric will likely have a decent career but Yonex will have to keep hold of them and maybe try and acquire a few more top players when Hewitt/Monaco/Wawrinka retire. For the mean time assuming Wawrinka's results continue, then there is no need for Yonex to add any more 'top' male players to their line-up. Also, with tennis expanding massively in Asia and Yonex having a big foothold over there, we'll undoubtedly see some decent Asian players coming through using Yonex frames. I don't see them being in any trouble anytime soon especially with Ana Ivanovic still playing with Yonex.

 

[Fifth Set]

The awesomeness of this photo is a reminder that it's pretty important for them to hold on to the Stanimal. Wonder how long that contract is through?

 

[NKX6]

Delpo for yonex would be awesome!!!!

 

[Kalin]

As they say in Nascar, 'Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday'. No matter how good your racquets are and how amazing the quality is, modern sports equipment needs to be used by the champions to be accepted as great and to sell in numbers. Just compare the fate of Wilson in tennis and in golf.

Wawa is great for now but Yonex do need to look for their next big male star; no offense to all the fine (very fine, in Anna's case) ladies who use Yonex.

 

[martini1]

Delpo is not willing to give up his K95 rackets. One reason Wilson not signing with him anymore.

He is also recovering from a second surgery (that I know of, could be more). His performance is unknown and if he will injury his wrist again. Very tough for him.

 

[SoBad]

Berankis is currently ranked outside the top 100 and hasn't had any great results as a senior except for making 1 final in 2012. He did well on the junior circuit so hopefully he'll have some decent results this year. He made the QFs in Munich last week after a bye and a 3 set win over Melzer before falling to Struff.

Thanks for your comment -- sounds like Berankis put a good beatdown on Melzer in Munich the other week and embarrassed the old cheater in front of his home crowd.

 

[otifiwi]

Living in Asia currently I would like to state that Yonex is very competitive here. A lot of young tennis players I see such as juniors all use yonex especially on the girls side, that being said a lot of guys use yonex as well including myself. Not to mention yonex prices are very reasonable here in Asia you can always find sales where as Babolat and Head are never on sale. Also as mentioned in other posts yonex is the #1 in badminton rackets and gear.
However it is very shocking to me that yonex would let a player such as Nichikori slip away, it was no secret he was a good junior player coming up, if I where the owner of yonex I would move heaven and earth to get Nishikori on the band wagon. They really failed in allowing him to go to Wilson and Uniqlo. Well actually Uniqlo has tons of money, but as far as rackets go you do whatever it takes, a young budding Asian talent like Nishikori should be a walking billboard for Yonex. I have to say though they did well in getting Wawrinka on board.
I agree though when i lived in the US it was all Babolat, Wilson and Head with the occasional Prince thrown in, I remember being the only person with a yonex racket and bag in the entire tennis club.
I do feel it is to bad yonex doesn't make more of a push in the US markets not just because of money but I feel everybody who plays tennis should have the chance to swing a yonex at least once.

dude 3 or 4 years later everyone seems to be switching to yonex it's unbelivable...johnson, shapovalov, mmoh, tiafoe, you just name it...unbelivable i swear...even troicki man haha

 

[mavsman149]

dude 3 or 4 years later everyone seems to be switching to yonex it's unbelivable...johnson, shapovalov, mmoh, tiafoe, you just name it...unbelivable i swear...even troicki man haha

I've noticed this too, Yonex is really making a strong push with the pros