Emma Raducanu enjoyed overnight fame and success when she made history at the 2021 US Open, becoming the first qualifier ever to lift a Grand Slam title while she was still aged just 18. The Brit soon signed plenty of lucrative sponsorship deals with brands like Dior and British Airways, and still has contracts with most of the companies, including these two.
Although some of her partnerships remain up in the air, the 22-year-old is said to be raking in millions from off-court agreements. But tennis legend Chris Evert believes Raducanu was thrown into the deep end and says the endorsements have done nothing to help her career.
“Emma is a beautiful girl and that probably didn’t help. The endorsements came in, the coaches were coming in and out, and still her expectations are right up there now,” the 18-time Major winner told Tennis365.
“She’s not there yet. She’s got to build, go back to the drawing board and build-up slowly. Maybe she had to swallow her pride a little because she’s not up there yet.”
Raducanu has been through plenty of ups and downs since her unprecedented US Open triumph.
She has peaked at No. 10 in the world but fell outside of the world’s top 300 after ending her 2023 season early to have three surgeries. Now, the Brit is back inside the world’s top 50 and is keen to play as often as possible this season.
But she still has plenty of off-court deals to worry about. The British No. 2 reportedly earns around £100k each from Nike – which provides her match and training kit – and racket sponsor Wilson.
Raducanu is also an ambassador for luxury houses Dior and Tiffany & Co., banking around £2million a year from the two brands.
The world No. 41 works with Evian, British Airways and HSBC. The banking group is the title sponsor of the WTA and ATP 500 events at London’s Queen’s Club and Raducanu recently tagged them in an Instagram story ahead of the tournament.
Despite reports that she had a car “taken away” by Porsche, Raducanu also appears to still be one of their global brand ambassadors.
In October, the German car manufacturer confirmed that they loaned her cars on an ad-hoc basis and said their agreement was still in place.
However, Raducanu did not receive a wildcard for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix this year, a WTA 500 clay court tournament in Stuttgart. She instead entered the WTA 250 in Rouen but ultimately pulled out to take a break and undergo a training block.
Before she pulled out, a spokesperson for Porsche told Express Sport this was because the Rouen tournament “complemented her schedule” better.
