The sport of Tennis is by no doubt one of the leading sporting codes in the globe with a very huge following. The Tennis annual calendar provides the athlete the chance to compete and demonstrate their talent with the rest of the world but how does this unique fascinating sport generate big revenues. The Tennis season means new kits for the athlete and how does the athlete obtain these lucrative sponsorships. With that, we followed up with Mike from the Tennis Exchange to talk about how the new tennis season means new kits for the athlete and how does the athlete obtain these lucrative sponsorships. Following yet another end of the memorable Wimbledon Championship for the year.
Let’s start with the female, Nike is leading the sponsorship of the top female Athletes such as Naomi Osaka and Venus Williams with their tennis clothing. It is by far no doubt that Nike and Adidas are the most represented suppliers of tennis kits to athlete followed by Wilson, Head, and Yonex who has the exposure for a very long time.
The male sponsorship overview is very identical to female with Nike and Adidas leading the apparel sponsorship and exposure, Nike clothing can be seen on big superstars such as Rafael Nadal shoes. With athletes becoming more aware of their brand and what it represents it becomes more interesting on how the commercial deals are structured per athletes and the benefits of both athletes and the commercial brand
Opportunity for other brands to join Tennis elite championship sponsorship
We have seen in the past how sports betting and online casino dominated English Premiership with their huge money sponsorship for teams such as Manchester United, Westham, Everton, and many more, is there an opportunity for brands such online casinous.com to sponsor Gram Slam and brand such as Mr. Green casino to sponsor Wimbledon in the future. This is another revenue stream that can increase the revenue of Tennis to be in par with Football teams and players. Tennis stars have proven to be global icons similar to the likes of Ronaldo, Leo Messi, and Neymar.
Value of sponsorship increases
With the recent movement of Tennis players switching sponsorship for greener pastures can we such as Naomi Osaka leaving Adidas for Nike. Will these phenomenal changes also means more sponsorship opportunities for other companies to join the beautiful game of tennis and will we see sports betting and high payout casinos online brands start to penetrate the market since their marking huge revenues from Tennis matches bets.
The male combine deal for last year was a total 201.55 Million dollars compared to women’s total deal at 70.02 Million dollars. The male total worth deal can be contributed to Federer, Nishikori, Djokovic, and Nadal who are currently dominating the rankings. Women’s deal worth has been dominated by Serena Williams with a take-home of estimated 25 Million dollars a year. However, we now seeing Osaka with her new lucrative deal closing the gap. The woman game is mostly dependent on domestic sponsorship. Nike and Adidas dominate the athlete attire sponsorship and the playing equipment dominated by Yonex and Wilson. We also see a lot of other industries increasing their sponsorship presence such as the automotive, financial services, and consumer goods holding around 17 deals each. America is leading the sponsorship with brands such as Nike and Wilson, Nike has 35% of the pie with regards to the sponsorship of the top athlete globally.
Grand Slam Titles
The female category we have Serena Williams with her 23 total grand slams titles which accounts for 67.65% of the total number of grand slams achieved within the female category games. In the process, Serena Williams has earned 25% of the top 20’s WTA tour earnings. She also enjoys a lucrative sponsorship with Nike making her the most successful women tennis player currently. Looking at the male category we have Roger Federer. No doubt one of the greatest tennis players of our time. Roger accounts for just over 34% of the men’s grand slams titles. Also with 102 ATP titles, he won, making him one of the most successful in the game accounting for just over 24%.
Social Media Followers
Rafael Nadal attracts 32% of the ATP collective followers however Serena Williams holds the greater impact on her tour, however the male lead the stats of the most influential on social media with her over 19 Million followers across social media platforms.
Tournament Prize Money
One of the biggest debates over a decade is around the questions of gender equality on the prize money for tennis athletes. The question is aimed to address the equal pay for athletes especially at Grand Slams and other major tournaments, the questions, and debate also stretches to the different format where male play the best of five while females play the best of three.at the Grand Slams. The progress has been made and looking at the recent French Open and Roland Garros Grand Slams in 2019 the prize money was consistently split at all stages of the competitions for both female and male. With total prize money of $18,458.900 with each winner taking home $ 2,300,000.
Summary
Without a doubt, tennis is one of the most popular sports globally with its four major events making it to the top international sporting calendar. Sports have produced the best athletes and ambassadors of the game in the world compared with other sports such as soccer and, golf and basketball. The sport also produces great talents each year such as the current crop of Zverev, Thiem, and Osaka.
By winning one major tournament can thrust a player into the global eye and open up lucrative sponsorship deals. For example, Osaka with her recent $8.5 million deal with Adidas proved that with hard work young players can open up financial rewards for both males and females. With the number of commercial sponsors increasing annually will means more opportunities for up and coming tennis players and also an opportunity for other industries such as sports betting and casinos to join the industry the same way they are doing with soccer in Europe. Tennis has shown big success at the global stage and the athletes have the ability to pull huge crowd the same way as the other sporting codes such as soccer and basketball.