Emma Raducanu has confirmed her commercial appeal is still strong despite her lack of success on the court in recent years, with former British No 1 Greg Rusedski suggesting her mega new deal with Uniqlo makes sense for both parties.
The British No 1 has been wearing Nike clothing since she broke onto the tennis scene with a run to the last-16 at Wimbledon in 2018, with his incredible win at the US Open a few weeks later propelling her towards instant global superstardom.
Now her time with Nike as come to an end, with the Uniqlo deal that is believed to be worth several million dollars set to be launched with her appearance at the WTA 1000 event at Indian Wells next month.
Raducanu said in the statement: “I am very pleased to join UNIQLO and to work closely with its amazing team of Global Brand Ambassadors. UNIQLO and I share many values and perspectives on life, culture, and society.
“I am excited to promote LifeWear through my tennis career, and to working with everybody at UNIQLO to inspire and engage young people everywhere.”
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Some of Radcuanu’s critics will question how she is still attracting big money sponsors despite failing to land a title since that US Open win, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has offered up a much more positive view.
Speaking on the latest edition of his Off Court Cuts podcast, Rusedski outlined why he believes Raducanu’s deal with Uniqlo makes commercial sense for the Japanese company.
“The deal probably makes a lot of sense for them because they look for brand ambassadors and they look for Instagram followers, they look to TikTok to all those things in social media,” said Rusedski.
“She has a following, you know, in the UK, she has a following international, she has the Chinese market, she has multiple marketplaces there. So for a Japanese company, it probably makes a lot of sense.
“So I think the deal is not only on court, but it will be off court as well. So that makes sense. And your contracts are not always based on your tennis ranking. They’re also based on your followers, so they’re looking at it as a business point of view. They’re taking a punt that they’re hoping she gets back in the top 10, can start competing for slams again and win one, that would be the ultimate.
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“They’re also looking off court and does she generate enough press publicity and will we get a return on investment? They have done their numbers and it’s a very, very successful company. So I think it’s a great partnership.
“I think it’s going to go really well. And for me, fingers crossed, Emma needs to get healthy and get the tennis together. And I think it’s worth the punt even paying her that much money to go with UniGlo. So I think it’s a good deal. And let’s keep fingers crossed that Emma can get some great performances.”
Raducanu has confirmed she is currently looking for a new coach after her split with Francisco Roig after the Australian Open last month and she faces a big test in March, with the points she gained from her impressive run to the Miami Open last year coming off her ranking when he returns to Florida at the end of March.
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