It’s only January 5th and we’ve already had four official breakups with Nike in the WTA world. First, Ajla Tomljanovic left them for K-Swiss, then Maria Sakkari announced partnership with Adidas, and now Caroline Garcia and Iga Swiatek are officially members of the Asics family.
France’s world No.46 Garcia, with a career-high ranking of No.4, will open the season in new gear at the ASB Classic in Auckland, ditching the Swoosh for the “Anima sana in corpore sano” manufacturer.
The 2016 Roland Garros doubles champion will sport the Gel Resolution 8 footwear – the latest update to the Gel Resolution series, loaded with advanced features such as Dynawall and Dynawrap technologies. The former ensures a superior balance of stability and flexibility, while the latter provides a system of panels that cradle the foot and use the wearer’s own momentum to maintain an excellent fit.
Asics is also committed to the development of young talent, which is reflected in their partnership with 18-year-old Iga Swiatek of Poland, who was also formerly sponsored by Nike. The fast-rising teen and former junior Grand Slam champion will be wearing the Gel Resolution 8 tennis shoe, just like Garcia.
Have a look at my overview of Julia Goerges’ Asics outfits in 2019, to get a better idea of what Asics tennis apparel is about.
They probably all spent it on Osaka… just kidding.. but Nike almost have all of the top players sponsored.
Ozzie, you’re right, almost all the top players, that’s why I’ welcoming the diversity we’re getting at the start of 2020.
I totally agree…. can’t wait to see their outifts come AO2020 especially during matches…
Ozzie, I hope we’ll have some more clothing changes early this season. I’m looking forward to more variety. Too many players wore the same Nike apparel last year.
Totally… Nike was dominating last year… it’s good other sponsors such as Asics is stepping up. I felt Adidas was not as advertised as their players kept losing early so signing Sakkari was a good move, i hope they get more. Speaking of Adidas, them shutting down their twitter account is such a bummer, not cool at all. Just saying….
Ozzie, as I said in my post about Sakkari’s partnership with Adidas, I hope that it is just the beginning of Adidas’ road back to the top. Their designs definitely deserve it. They have never flopped when it comes to quality and looks of apparel.
Adidas shoes’ soles have become a big problem. They’ve become too slippery. Djokovic used to slip a lot with Adidas. Then recently, Thiem kept cursing his Adidas shoes, saying in German, “What’s with these shoes? I’ve slipped seven times already!” I’ve stopped buying Adidas after I nearly died slipping on a slightly wet sidewalk and almost getting run over by a car when I fell into the street wearing my new Adidas running shoes. Adidas seems to have a poor research and development team, considering they don’t seem to test the soles of their shoes in various conditions, so they’re unaware how dangerously slippery they are.