It looks like Nike is making major cutbacks in their sponsorship budget. At the start of the 2023 season, Marketa Vondrousova joins Donna Vekic and Marta Kostyuk as a formerly Nike-clad player who no longer wears the Swoosh on her tennis clothes.
With her ranking down to No.92, the 2019 French Open finalist Vondrousova kicked off the new year without a clothing sponsor. At the 2023 Adelaide International 1 in Australia, the Czech WTA player had no logo on her tank and skirt as she defeated eighth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round.
The former world No.14 Vondrousova skipped most of the 2022 season due to a persistent wrist injury which she surgically treated in May. She was away from competition from April until October, but the 23-year-old had a busy private life as she got married to long-time partner Stepan Simek in July.
You can probably add Sloane Stephens to that list…
I was thinking that Nike would not ditch a Slam champion (or finalist), let alone when they are American, I suppose I was wrong!
Virginie, oh my! It seems like Nike is in a major crisis. Ouch. I will post about Sloane as well. Thanks for the tip.
Who’s vondrousova sponsor in Berlin?
Mary Bo, that is an excellent question. Currently, she doesn’t have a sponsor, and although I searched diligently, I couldn’t find the brand of her current apparel. I will let you know here if I get some information.