Article Business of fashion - Beyond Rolex: Luxury Brands Play For Visibility on the Tennis Court

At tennis’s US Open in New York this week, luxury brands and their sponsored athletes take the court: Rolex is the official timekeeper as well as sponsoring a lengthy roster of top players. Players’ benches are branded Polo Ralph Lauren (a sponsor of the tournament since 2005), with logos for Audemars Piguet, Louis Vuitton and Miu Miu and more also visible on the athletes, who sign endorsement deals for everything from tennis shoes and travel bags to perfumes and deodorant.

Long prized by luxury and sports brands for its upscale image and roster of telegenic star players, tennis’s appeal has further increased in recent years. “Tennis is the runway of modern luxury branding,” said Merrick Haydon, an independent sports and luxury analyst, who has worked in sports marketing for more than three decades.

Luxury brands are redoubling their efforts to capitalise. In watches, Rolex works with the men’s world number one and two players, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka is with Audemars Piguet. And last year, Hublot collaborated on a watch with Novak Djokovic with a composite casing made from his old racquets and shirts. Rado’s 40-year relationship with tennis continues through its sponsorship of a number of regular tour events and players including Britain’s Cameron Norrie, a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon this year.

Some watch brands have taken a step back. Longines lost French Open timekeeping duties to Rolex in 2018 and has since exited tennis. Audemars Piguet continues to work with Williams, who retired in 2022, and recently added Sabalenka, but has otherwise reduced its player roster under new chief executive Ilaria Resta.

TAG Heuer’s foray into tennis appears over since it dropped Japanese star Naomi Osaka and the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime to focus on Formula 1. Even Richard Mille, which last year drove revenues of more than $1.6 billion against sales of around 6,000 watches, has reduced its exposure to the sport following the retirement of Rafael Nadal.

Backing the right players is critical, and Rolex employs a tennis sponsorship manager to identify talent — and temperament. Sinner, Alcaraz and Gauff were all added to its roster before they won their first Slams “The cost of securing major players and tournament partnerships has become prohibitive relative to the potential return on investment.”

Coco Gauff wears a Rolex Oyster Perpetual during the US Open's Media Day. (Getty Images)

Costs can spiral quickly. “For a personal sponsorship deal in tennis, you’re looking at anything from $100,000 to $1,000,000,” said Anthony Schaub, founder of The Consultancy Group.

Written by Robin Swithinbank

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