Why Luxury Brands Are Betting Big on Tennis

NEW YORK — On the US Open Tuesday, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Italy’s Jannik Sinner each triumphed of their respective matches, which means the quarterfinals may see them go head-to-head within the newest chapter of tennis’s hottest burgeoning rivalry.

Luxurious’s greatest manufacturers are paying shut consideration: 20-year-old Alcaraz was signed as a home ambassador at Louis Vuitton earlier this summer time, and final week launched the model’s spring-summer 2024 formalwear marketing campaign. Sinner, against this, has taken to repping Vuitton’s greatest rival, Gucci, creating viral moments as he carried monogram duffels from the Italian vogue large onto the courtroom (Final night time’s bag included customized handles within the US Open’s signature shades of blue and yellow).

With its nation membership roots and historical past of trendy gamers, tennis has all the time been a horny discussion board for manufacturers from Rolex and Nike to Emirates and Mercedes Benz. However as the sport turns into extra in style, extra world, and more and more various, it’s attracting an increasing number of luxurious vogue manufacturers, too, as the businesses search to develop on high of file gross sales by ramping up their engagements with sports activities and tradition.

Manufacturers who beforehand centered their cultural advertising efforts on pop stars and actors (whose movies, excursions, and purple carpet appearances made them pure companions for brokering visibility for garments) or sports activities seen as much less area of interest, the surging reputation of tennis — whose world fan base is estimated at 1 billion — has made it a major goal for entrepreneurs. It’s a fast-growing sport in Asia, a key marketplace for luxurious manufacturers. Then there’s the brand new era of gamers: a younger, various, charismatic, and social-media savvy cohort with a style for vogue who’re creating new pathways for manufacturers to authentically join with shoppers.

Dior tapped British champion Emma Raducanu in 2021 and Canadian participant Felix Auger Aliassime in 2023, whereas Louis Vuitton made its first steps within the sport by signing an ambassadorship with Naomi Osaka, the multiracial Japanese and Hatian-American star. Earlier this 12 months, Prada launched its spring-summer ‘23 marketing campaign that includes Reilly Opelka, a 6′11 American tennis participant who’s also referred to as an artwork and vogue aficionado.

“With an older era now graduating, and a brand new era coming in, the timing for luxurious manufacturers couldn’t be higher,” says Jared Eng, stylist and founding father of movie star information website Simply Jared. “They’ve an insane quantity of expertise proven on the courtroom, they usually have a worldwide fanbase.”

Gamers’ Evolving Strategy

Gamers have been doing greater than ever to spice up the game’s attraction for entrepreneurs: Tuesday, tennis legend Venus Williams (a vanguard alongside her sister Serena in selling synergies between tennis and vogue) tried to create tennis’ model of the NBA “tunnel stroll” — arriving for her match in an ensemble together with items from Azzedine Alaia, Prada, and Willy Chavaria.

Whereas Williams’ norm-challenging event seems used to face out from extra conservatively-dressed rivals (and have been usually targets for racially-charged criticism), tennis’ new cohort of style-conscious gamers have made it an on a regular basis incidence to make use of vogue to showcase their personalities and work together with followers on social media. That’s helped to visually refresh the game, in addition to creating extra alternatives to attach with shoppers.

Whereas Vuitton ambassador Alcaraz is understood on the courtroom for his magnetic mixture of energy, pace, and really feel; on-line he’s additionally related with followers over a burgeoning sneaker assortment. Lanky redhead Sinner has attracted eyeballs for his high-velocity groundstrokes — in addition to picture ops snowboarding gracefully within the Tyrolean mountains.

20-year-old biracial American Ben Shelton is understood for his explosive play and for name-checking rappers like Central Cee on-line; Frances Tiafoe for his massive serve, massive forehand mixture and compelling come-up story because the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone. Holger Rune, a tempestuous 20-year-old Dane, has excited followers along with his Rafael Nadal-esque dedication and openness to interacting with followers over DM.

On the ladies’s facet, Osaka stands out from her cohort as one of many highest-paid feminine athletes on the planet with cross-cultural attraction. However extra lately Poland’s 22-year-old Iga Swiatek has made a reputation for herself by dominating video games with the facility and number of her play, in addition to selling psychological well being. 19-year-old American Coco Gauff — a favourite to win the US Open — is understood for her deadly backhand and pace, and viral TikTok dances. Mirra Andreeva, a precocious 16-year-old Russian has risen quick up the rankings whereas doing little to cover her charmingly girlish crush on Andy Murray.

At vogue weeks in Paris and Milan, athletes not hesitate to get in on the motion. “Gamers are actually not a uncommon sight,” says Sam Hines, a GQ author and tennis fan. “Felix [Auger Aliassime] is there, Reilley’s [Opelka] is there, and Jannik [Sinner] too. It’s positively now a part of the promotional circuit these guys do.”

They more and more see such actions as a two-way road reasonably than a promotional obligation, based on Carly Duguid, co-founder and inventive director of Evolve, a expertise company co-founded by Osaka in addition to Australian Nick Kyrgios and Tunisian Ons Jabeur.

“Style has grow to be an vital component in an athlete’s picture,” Duguid stated.

For followers (and the manufacturers attempting to succeed in them), “there’s a shift within the narrative of the game from being beforehand unique to now feeling way more inclusive and obtainable to whoever it’s that wishes to play it.”

Opelka’s clout in artwork and excessive vogue has been burnished by invitations to attend Rick Owens present throughout Paris vogue week and a Prada marketing campaign in addition. Osaka strategically aligned with cool manufacturers in addition to massive sponsors from the start: for her first picture opp because the 2018 US Open champion, the then-20-year-old participant wore a white costume from cult Franco-Japanese label Comme des Garçons.

“[Fashion] brings about quite a lot of business alternatives,” says Duguid. “I’d enterprise to say it opened the door for her greater luxurious model partnership we did later with Louis Vuitton.”

‘Cultural’ Methods

The rise of a brand new era of tennis stars has fortuitously coincided with a shift in massive luxurious manufacturers’ methods as they search to stretch fashion’s audience via associations with tradition writ-large: assembly shoppers wherever their pursuits lie through partnerships in sports activities (vogue tie-ups in Method One are additionally booming), music (the costumes for Beyoncé’s tour have advanced it right into a sort-of roving vogue week), movie and extra.

Louis Vuitton, which surpassed the historic threshold of €20 billion ($22 billion) in annual gross sales final 12 months, staged a high-profile artwork collaboration with Yayoi Kusama and employed Pharrell Williams as its males’s inventive director in a bid to faucet the multihyphenate creator’s net of connections throughout sports activities, streetwear, artwork, magnificence, luxurious, and environmental activism. Guardian firm LVMH additionally paid €150 million to be a premier sponsor of the Paris Summer season Olympics subsequent 12 months.

Whereas tennis has all the time been seen as a deeply trendy recreation, “vogue is intersecting with athletics in a method that’s bringing these two worlds nearer collectively than ever earlier than,” stated GQ’s Hines.

As manufacturers search to develop on high of file gross sales, sports activities supply a extremely common approach to join with shoppers. Past the breadth of that visibility, there’s additionally the standard of protection to think about.

“Manufacturers accomplice with sports activities ambassadors to harness the facility of a profitable narrative,” says Alison Bringé, chief advertising officer at vogue information consultancy Launchmetrics. In tennis, as in life — and enterprise — nobody needs to lose.