Emma Raducanu has reportedly lost one of her lucrative sponsorship deals, which saw her rake in £3million a year. The 22-year-old signed several big-money contracts after her historic victory at the 2021 US Open. But one of the brands has now turned their back on the Brit.
Since capturing her first Grand Slam title more than three years ago, Raducanu has struggled to maintain consistency and been dogged by injuries. And the world No. 47 has now been axed by communications giant Vodafone.
According to the Daily Mail, the brand opted not to renew Raducanu’s £3m-a-year deal because she was “demanding too much money”.
The British No. 2 signed her multi-million-pound agreement with Vodafone back at the end of 2021, serving as their main tennis ambassador.
Raducanu appeared in promotional campaigns, including appearing as a 5G hologram to give some hopeful young players a one-to-one coaching session.
But some of her duties were scaled back in 2023 when she ended her season early to have three surgeries. Raducanu was replaced as the company’s face of Wimbledon that year as she was forced to miss the event.
Instead, wheelchair doubles pair Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid appeared on billboards across the country, and Jack Draper was also included in the campaign.
At the time, Vodafone said: “Emma is still one of Vodafone’s valued ambassadors. She will continue to play a key role in our Wimbledon campaign alongside Alfie, Gordon and Jack Draper.”
Raducanu still has deals with Dior, Tiffany & Co., Evian, British Airways and her apparel sponsor, Nike. But her partnership with Vodafone was said to be the most lucrative of the lot.
The 22-year-old was ranked the seventh-highest-earning female athlete by Sportico last year, pocketing a combined £11.2m ($14.7m) on and off the court. Her brand deals accounted for £10m ($14m) of her earnings.
Raducanu’s partnership with Porsche is also under question. Last October, it was reported that the motoring giant “took her £125k car away”.
A Porsche representative later confirmed that Raducanu was loaned cars on a short, ad-hoc basis and said: “Emma Raducanu is a global brand ambassador for Porsche and there have not been any changes within our successful partnership since it started in 2022. We are very happy with our partnership.”
As part of her deal, the world No. 47 received wildcards into the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, a WTA 500 clay event held in Stuttgart. However, this year, she entered the WTA 250 in Rouen in the same week instead.
Porsche said this was because the Rouen tournament “complimented her schedule better”. But Raducanu later pulled out of Britain’s BJK Cup qualifier ties and withdrew from Rouen to “protect her body”, opting for a training block instead.