Melbourne, Australia – Arena Sabalinka It was less than winning the third in a row Australian open The title, but it did not affect its position with the lover crowd.
When the hero took twice the microphone in court after losing on Saturday last to Madison KeysIt was received with a rapper applause. The fans laughed while SABALENKA laughed with a tradition of thanks to her team, instead joking about her triple defeat, which is their mistake. It was usually an entertaining speech, which was delivered immediately after sabalenka destroyed her rapture before she left Rod Laver Arena for a short time to form herself.
Sabalinka, 26, has three Grand Salam Calls. In the last two major companies, she won We are open Then he finished the best finalists in Melbourne Park, with 13 out of 14 games in this process. She has an attractive and funny personality and a great presence on social media, and play an attractive brand of tennis attacks. she World No. 1.
These are all the scales that brands and sponsor are looking for in a sports game, but before Australia Open, Salalenka is divided with IMG sports marketing giant to join Naomi Osaka – After running a deal for her because of dissatisfaction with her representation.
“I was looking to build my brand, and I wanted a little more than IMG was doing for me. She said at a press conference in the Australian Open last week:” I was not happy to serve. “
“There was tension between me and some people there.”
Max Isbod, IMG, head of tennis agents, said in a statement to Athlete: “We have separated from ways with Sabalenka after a successful partnership of four years and we are proud of what we have accomplished together.
“She is a great hero on the field and we wish her to communicate with her career.”
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How does the Arena Sabalinka’s confrontation look at full?
Two sources, they spoke on the condition that his identity was not disclosed to protect the relationships within the tennis, which was briefed on the departure of Sabalinka from IMG, that Sabalinka originated from the separation between her position in the world of sports and how possible deals were limited because of her nationality. Belarus is an ally of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and brands, either withdrew from deals or scaling associated with Russian athletes and Ballen since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022.
Before joining EvOLVE, Sabalenka filmed the first single advertise It can be worn WhOop, Tequila Brand Double, Fuckury Watchmaker Audemars Piguet and Oakberry, the ACAI privilege that is run by its partner, Georgios Frankulis – but still fails its contemporaries in women’s and men games.
According to Forsa, Sabalenka acquired $ 9 million (7.2 million pounds) of approvals in 2024. Iga swiaatekPicking $ 15 million in the same period. World No. 3 Coco Gof It brought 25 million dollars, while the male world No. 3 Carlos Carrez Make $ 32 million. Daniel Medvedev, Russian and No. 7 in the men’s round, achieved $ 13 million, with the help of a characteristic personality and great interest in the games that were subjected to deals with EA SPORTS and Ubisoft.
“The nationality of the athletes has a big difference,” Tim Crowe, former president of the International Sports Marketing Agency, said in an interview on a phone last week.
“Let’s say that you are looking to register an American player. In this case, you are taking advantage of the giant American economy – half of all the dollars you spend on sports in the world by companies that come out of the American economy.”
“All things are equal, I do not think that Sabalenka has anything like the support that it should have made, especially in the past two years.”
Arena Sabalinka at the height of women’s tennis. (David Gray / AFP via Getty Images)
Tennis is a sports marketing money maker due to his position as one of the really largest international sports. The fans not only comment not only tennis players and their wealth in tournaments, but with their groups, speculators and their characters outside the stadium. The four specialties are the most important stores of stores and the success of Grand Slam is the most direct and profitable way for care and approval, but the biggest stars in this sport – and the most marketing players – exceed tennis. Gauff invented the American Eagle Line; Caraz and Jeanic wrong Louis Vuitton and Gucci model; Osaka lit the Olympic flame in the Tokyo 2021 games.
“It emerges beyond the tennis world where the real money is, it must become a global and personal face,” said Nigel Curie, sports marketing advisor in an interview on a phone last week.
In the world of support, the player’s nationality is their market. Seven points are less in classifications and with yellow titles in the four major championships to three of Sabalenka, Zheng Qinwen cannot match them on the field. But in China, Zheng is already a symbol – Only after that Win Olympic Gold in Paris in 2024 – She recently signed a deal to become one of the faces of Christian Dior. Emma Radocano signed a similar deal with Dior a month after she won the United States open as a qualifying in 2021.
When Kei Nishikori became the first Asian man to reach the Grand Slam final in 2014, he created a large number of approvals that, after half a decade, brought $ 31 million every year. Among them are the Kei Jaguar, Nissin Nishikori Noodles and alcohol -free beer from Asahi. Osaka’s Japanese heritage and its location at the intersection of the culture of sports and pop in America has a tremendous attraction for the shepherds.
A timely clarification of the SARAPLELANKA position in this dynamic came a day after its defeat on Keys, when the leader of the Belarus Alexander Lukashenko was elected since the seventh consecutive time in Opinion polls described by the opponents of the exile as forged. A few months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Wimbledon prevented Russian and two competitors, which reduces their exposure. In the French Open Championship the following year, the reporters often asked Sabalinka about its position on the war and its relationships with Lukashenko. There are many pictures of the second together, and Sabalenka went on two news conferences after the match during the Paris Championship, announcing that she “did not feel safe” during one of her conferences.
When Sabalenka returned to her media duties a few days later, she was asked if she supported Lukashenko. “It is a difficult question. I mean, I do not support war, and this means that I do not support Lukashenko now.”
Between these two championships, Sabalenka won the first specialization in the Australian Open 2023 championship, looking for Top Box brands. It has grown only in place since then, but its fame outside the tennis has not attached its position at the top of the women’s game. SABALENKA, SABALENKA, described “one of the most marketing athletes in the world today,” adding that her commercial portfolio is “largely not exploited” in a statement upon her signing. IMG left the agency to prepare the agency.
Like Gauff and OSAKA, the presence of cultural Sabalenka is amplified by using it for social media. Through her rights in restrictions, fragmented programming and low exposure to the national striking agreement championships against their ATP counterparts, the ability to discover limited tennis means that being Coco Goff or Naomi Osaka or Arena Sabalinka fans is much easier than being a tennis lover who loves these players. The use of Sabalenka for Tiktok, in which she participated in dance trends with her competitors and her team, helped upload her personal file from the field.
Crowe says that the social media element is “very important.” “For herders in the modern era, especially the latest brands, the amount of your social media is your social media, and the number of your followers, and all this type of things is very important because it puts most of their marketing dollars.”
Part of the reason for the importance of social media is consistency. One of the things that makes Tennis Global is its global schedule, which can often see the best players spread in different tournaments, in different countries or even continents, from a week to week. Four Specializations – ATP and WTA 1000, one of the championship under specialization – is the place that comes together.
These are places where the competitions exceed tennis, and the lack of them in the woman’s tour recently is another factor in the relative difficulty in Sabalinka in securing great approvals. The sinner has the caramel. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were each other. SABALENKA clearly has Swiaatek, with a duo involved in a battle for world number 1. They took control of the WTA tour over the past three years, but only once met in the Grand Championship and unprecedented in a big final.
They have ever been close to Thursday, when Swiatek keeps a match against KEYS before he eventually lost in the exciting tie segment.
“In individual sport, classic competitions are similar to gold dust,” Curie said.
“The great competitions tend to attract a broader audience because it is an entry point for those who may be interested but not enthusiastic about a certain sport. It gives them knowledge of the sport that they did not have.”
“The women’s tennis had no great competition in the four championships truly since Stepie Graf and Monica Sells more than 30 years ago and they did not have a suitable competition for the court Since Serena Williams against Justin Henin.
Williams faced each other in three of the four major companies in 2007 and lounged an open Australian final in 2010 (which Williams won in three groups).
“This is a long time between drinks,” the executive director added. “The lack of competitions affects the vision of sports.”
The presence of Swiaatek, along with Gauff, Elena Rybakina (if you can return to its shape in early 2024) and players who have the ability to run in a specialty (such as keys), are more siege to the other sabalenka road to infringement: control of sport directly . The only player who wins everything on his way is very much in sport, such as convincing competition.
One can make a difference: Wimbledon. After missing the year 2022 (prohibited) and 2024 (shoulder injury), the best result of Spalinka in the club of all England is a semi -final appearance in 2023.
“It is a matter of time before you give up Wimbledon and if it won some other specialties, people will say it is the prominent player. This is what should happen.”
If Sabalenka continues to capture Grand Slam, its marketing potential will grow. The Melbourne crowd response appears to defeat that it is on its way to achieving the status of its contemporaries. To return to the evaluation of the joke of that loss, whether approvals and care will grow with this situation is a question for her team.
((The upper image: David Gray / AFP via Getty Images)
