Emma Raducanu has been warned she must rediscover her winning form, or risk losing her lucrative sponsorship deals.
The British tennis star shot to fame when she triumphed at the 2021 US Open as an 18-year-old, and landed endorsements with huge global brands in the aftermath of her victory.
AFPRaducanu has enjoyed a rollercoaster experience in the years since her first Grand Slam triumph[/caption]
Sponsored Dior, Porsche, Tiffany, British Airways, Vodafone and Evian, Raducanu was recently announced the seventh highest-paid female athlete in the world in 2024.
According to sports business platform Sportico, the 22-year-old has earned £9million from brand deals over the last year.
But Raducanu’s place among sport’s biggest earners could be under threat if she fails to rediscover the form which secured her these endorsements, according to sports finance expert Dr Rob Wilson.
The Brit has struggled to get anywhere near the level she reached when winning her first and to date only first Grand Slam title.
Raducanu currently sits at no.57 in the WTA rankings, with persistent injuries hampering her progress, and Wilson warned that she must begin to deliver results to maintain her brand deals.
He told OLGB: “If she doesn’t start winning games, if she doesn’t go deep into tournaments, she is going to really struggle to renegotiate or renew any of those commercial endorsements.
“And the career could be over pretty much in its infancy, which would be a crying shame because she’s a hugely talented individual and hugely marketable as well.”
This isn’t the first time Raducanu’s sponsorship has seemed to come under threat.
In October, the Daily Mail reported that Porsche had taken back the £125,000 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet they had gifted the Londoner as part of her deal with the luxury car brand.
However, the German company quickly denied the rumour, and Raducanu later appeared to poke fun at the speculation in various Instagram posts, by sharing snaps of the sports car.
But the tennis star’s latest move has signalled her intention to return to top form in 2025.
Raducanu recently announced the addition of fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura to her coaching team, who has previously worked with Grand Slam champions Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka.
On his appointment, she said: “I think he is going to help me just really explore how far I can go, athletically.
“I think it’s a big strength of mine that I have nowhere near fulfilled.
“I think I can become one of the best athletes out there in tennis and I’m just looking forward to seeing how much I can do.”
Having endured injury hell in 2023, Raducanu has enjoyed a resurgent year, and has climbed the rankings remarkably since dropping to world no.303 in April.
Since then, she has reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in July, her best Grand Slam performance since her 2021 victory in New York.
Most recently, Raducanu performed admirably for Great Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup in November, winning all three of her matches as her nation narrowly missed out on a place in the competition’s finals.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Raducanu said of her return to form this year: “Sometimes I need reminding: I’m top 60 and I have played less than 15 events, which is pretty unheard of.
“I have to pat myself on the back for that.”
She added: “I know I’m a dangerous player. I know no one wants to pull my name in the draw.
“I take pride in that, and I’m looking forward to hopefully staying on court longer next year.”
