Media365
TOI in New York: Sometimes players take exception to seemingly innocuous questions leaving the room puzzled.Ben Shelton’s partnership with apparel sponsor On was likened to World No.5 Jack Draper’s switch to athleisure maker Vuori. The question was meant to highlight non-traditional brands disrupting the industry’s status quo. The American countered, “So On is not a big company? Did you see the earnings report a couple of weeks ago?”The 22-year-old world No.6 added, “Sorry, bro, I don’t like that question.”Reporter’s note to self: choose descriptors carefully.
Draper, the British No.1, sported Vuori gear for the first time in the US Open mixed doubles competition. “My contract was running out this summer,” Draper said of his partnership with Nike. “Vuori came in with an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”With a few exceptions like Uniqlo, New Balance and Lacoste apparel giants Nike and Adidas have enjoyed a stranglehold on tennis’ top talent for decades. Recently, however, upstart brands like On and Lululemon have stormed the space with big-name players like Iga Swiatek and Frances Tiafoe. Tiafoe, the world No.17, switched to Lululemon in January.“I’d been with Nike for a lot of years, I wanted to go to the market to see what the market was like. There’s a lot of interest for me in the market. I had the opportunity to be the face of a brand which has a different mindset,” said Tiafoe. “I can build and they can grow. They are at their best at the highest level. I kind of decided, why not do something different? Why not be ‘the’ guy instead of one of them?” American superstar Coco Gauff emphasized that fashion in sport plays a significant role not just in how athletes feel in what they wear, but in how they express themselves and connect with fans.
Poll
Do you think non-traditional brands are successfully disrupting the tennis apparel industry?
“Fashion helps bring casual fans to the sport, a new demographic. We don’t always need the core fans who know every single player. You look at NBA games, there are so many people who don’t really know anything about basketball, other than the players,” she said. “Like for tennis, I think at the US Open we get that demographic of people.”
