Emma Raducanu will mirror Roger Federer with a major sponsor change: report
Emma Raducanu could be set to end her long-running partnership with Nike and sign a deal with a new clothing sponsor ahead of 2026, according to a report.
The 2021 US Open champion has been under contract with American sports giants Nike since before she turned pro in 2018.
Raducanu made her ITF Junior Circuit debut at the Nike Junior International in Liverpool in 2015, entering on her 13th birthday.
Craig Shapiro, a tennis insider who hosts The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast, has claimed that Raducanu will switch from Nike to Uniqlo for 2026.
“Just hearing Raducanu to @UniqloUSA for 2026,” Shapiro posted on The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast X/Twitter account.
In reply to a comment asking about the deal, Shapiro added: “it’s done.”
Raducanu, 23, finished the 2025 season as the world No 29.
Which other tennis players have worn Uniqlo?
Uniqlo is a major Japanese clothing brand, and it has partnered with a small group of high-profile tennis stars.
If Raducanu does make the move, she will be following in the footsteps of 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, who left Nike to sign with Uniqlo in 2018.
Tennis icon Federer, who turned pro in 1998, was with Nike from his junior days in 1994 until his contract expired in March 2018.
The Swiss’ deal with Uniqlo was worth a reported $300m (£228m) over 10 years from 2018. Federer wore Uniqlo until his retirement in 2022, and he remains a brand ambassador.
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Novak Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam winner, was a brand ambassador for Uniqlo from 2012 until 2017 — when he joined his current clothing sponsor, Lacoste.
Kei Nishikori, a former world No 4 and Japan’s biggest tennis star, has been sponsored by Uniqlo since 2011.
Uniqlo also sponsor Shingo Kunieda, who is considered the greatest male wheelchair tennis player of all time, and Gordon Reid, a current top wheelchair tennis star.
What are Emma Raducanu’s other sponsors?
Raducanu’s portfolio of sponsors includes Dior, Tiffany & Co., British Airways, Evian, Wilson, HSBC and Wild.
What has Emma Raducanu said about endorsements?
“I’m obviously very grateful and fortunate to have had certain experiences and opportunities but I wasn’t prepared for the other things that inevitably do take some energy out of you,” the Brit said.
“Especially straight after I did really well, for the next few years it was very much like there was so much communication about things off the court.
“And I would always, always give my 100 per cent on the court. I was always working really hard, but I just think that I wasn’t prepared as well for the other things that inevitably do take some energy out of you.
“I think now I’m a lot more structured. I’ll be like: ‘OK, I have this time where one hour we will talk about business. And now I’m going to go train for the rest of the week.’
“Also I think I’ve learned how to say no a bit more. Initially, I felt really bad for letting people down. I’d always want to do extra for whatever partner or magazine or whatever I’m shooting for.”
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