Raducanu Could 'Really Struggle' To Get Endorsements If Results Do Not Improve
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Emma Raducanu has been warned about the potential financial consequences if her WTA Tour results do not improve in 2025.
Getting endorsements from the world's most significant brands often requires several years of grafting for professional tennis players. However, Raducanu was a unique case where that did not apply.
She stunned the tennis world by winning the 2021 US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier. Raducanu did not drop a set during her historic run, ending with a triumph in the final against Leylah Fernandez.
The Briton gained millions in endorsements in the months that followed. A particularly high-profile example was the iconic automobile manufacturer Porsche partnering with Raducanu, including letting her drive one of their cars.
However, it was reported earlier this year that she no longer had the car because her results on the court had declined, although a Porsche spokesperson insisted the company remains happy with Raducanu.
In Raducanu's defense, challenging for Grand Slams consistently at such a young age was never going to be easy. She needed more time to develop her game and become accustomed to the daily grind of the WTA Tour.
Injuries have also not helped. Raducanu missed nine months of 2023 with severe wrist and ankle injuries that required surgeries and also could not play for most of this year's Asian swing after spraining ligaments in her foot.
Nonetheless, Raducanu remains optimistic ahead of the 2025 season. The 22-year-old hired Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova's former fitness coach and thinks she can become one of the best athletes in the world.
Raducanu might face a financial penalty if her results are not the best since the 2021 US Open in 2025. Dr. Rob Wilson, a professor of Applied Sports Finance at Sheffield Hallam University, told OLBG, as per Tennis365, that she could soon lose sponsors.
"Emma Raducanu needs to be winning games to keep her commercial deals up. Pretty much everything in terms of sponsorships in Raducanu’s case is between on-court and off-the-court performance."
"So you have to win matches in order to generate additional benefits [for] off field sponsorships, commercial endorsements, influence on social media and so on to be relevant and have a relevant voice in that market that you are operating within."
"Where she was smart was where she signed some lengthy deals when she won the US Open. It wasn’t like [darts player] Luke Littler who signed very short-term deals to maximise what was an iconic moment in darts."
"But if she doesn’t start winning games, if she doesn’t go deep into tournaments, she is going to really struggle to renegotiate or renew any of those commercial endorsements and the career could be over pretty much in its infancy, which would be a crying shame because she’s a hugely talented individual and hugely marketable as well.”
Raducanu's current endorsements' value was proven by her being ranked as the estimated seventh highest-paid female athlete in 2024, despite not being near the top of the rankings. Coco Gauff was the highest-paid, with over $30 million.
