New Balance, which abandoned its former anti-sponsorship philosophy a few years ago, has announced its first deal in the tennis sector. The contract is with Milos Raonic, a Canadian tennis champion born in Montenegro 22 years ago, who was previously sponsored by Lacoste.
The terms of the contract between New Balance and Raonic were not disclosed, but according to the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper, its value is in a range that is usually reserved for the world's top five players.
Raonic ranked 13th on the ATP Tour last year. He started wearing New Balance apparel and shoes at the Brisbane International tennis tournament last week, but while he was seeded second after Andy Murray, he was quickly eliminated from the tournament last Thursday in a match against Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria.
Asics is investing more in the high-visibility tennis sector, too. Noting that it was the fastest-growing brand of tennis shoes in Europe in the 12 months ended last September, Asics announced a multi-year sponsorship deal with Gaël Monfils to consolidate its momentum in tennis, a sport that it has singled out as a key strategic growth area.
Monfils, 26, was sponsored by Nike for shoes and clothing but switched to K-Swiss in 2010. The French tennis star reached a career high by ranking No. 7 in the world. He has won four ATP tournaments. Asics says that Monfils will be involved in the development of future tennis collections as part of the contract.
