Tennis – Clothing, shoes, rackets… Who are the equipment suppliers of the Top 100 ATP?

On the occasion of Roland-Garros 2018, we present to you the fifth edition of our focus on the tennis equipment manufacturers present alongside the 100 best players in the ATP ranking.

Raquets, shoes, textiles (upper body)… We have scrutinized what the champions of the little yellow ball are wearing. Here, sponsorship contracts and product endowments are mixed to retain only the visibility offered on the court by the TOP 100 ATP (ranking as of May 21, 2018). Nike and Wilson are the two most popular brands by the top 100 players but also by the TOP 20.

After going to Lacoste last year for his outfit, Novak Djokovic has been wearing Asics on his feet since this year for one of the most noticed transfers of the season.

Lotto is catching up with Nike on the textile side

Last year, Nike was the only player in the number of players equipped with textile with 16 players out of the 100 best in the world. This year, the swoosh brand also has 16 players but shares first place with Lotto. The Italian equipment manufacturer thus gains 4 players compared to last year. Among the players under contract with Lotto, we find a certain Marco Cecchinato, surprise semi-finalist this week at Roland-Garros. An almost unexpected visibility at this stage of the competition for the brand which has only one player in the current Top 20 with Kévin Anderson. "Lotto trusts these young athletes sometimes even before they are really aware of their potential and we then support them throughout their careers" explained to us a year ago Stefano Taboga, Head of Communication and Digital Sales. of Lotto.

On the third step of the podium in terms of outfits, we find adidas with 12 players from the Top 100. They are followed by Lacoste (10), Fila (7) and Asics (6). In total, 21 brands dress the top 100 players compared to 24 a year ago.

TOP 100 ATP (textile) equipment manufacturers

As for shoes, Nike confirms its number 1 position acquired last year but sees its share slightly reduced (-2) with 24% of the Top 100 adidas lost its second place in favor of Lotto, which now has 16 players compared to 14 for the brand with the three stripes. Follow Asics (11) and Mizuno (8). By putting on Bautista Agut, Kohlschreiber, Muller, Jaziri, Garcia-Lopez, Baghdatis, Karlovic and even Copil in particular, Mizuno has been making a rather noticeable return to tennis in recent years. "After 25 years of absence, we must first reposition Mizuno as a legitimate brand on the Tennis market and we have chosen to multiply our ambassadors to ensure Mizuno's visibility on all courts throughout the world. confided to us Nicolas Hope, General Manager France of Mizuno, a few months ago.

TOP 100 shoes

Concerning racquets, Wilson accentuates his leadership by equipping 32% of players in the Top 100 ATP ahead of Head (24%) and Babolat (20%). The French brand remains on the podium despite 2 fewer players compared to last year. In total, these three brands cover 76% of players. Behind, Yonex consolidates its 4th place with 11 players against 8 a year ago. Tecnifibre (6) and Prince (4) follow. Will the takeover of Tecnifibre (Major Sports) by Lacoste encourage the arrival of new players under contract for the racket brand? In the medium term, the objective would be to sign a top player. A 10 years ago, Verdasco or even Baghdatis played in Tecnifibre.

The TOP 100 ATP racquets

The Top 20 leaves few crumbs for the smallest equipment manufacturers

As we zoom in on the Top 20 ATP, we see that the best players are the preserve of the two major world sports equipment manufacturers, Nike and adidas, which share half of the players. Small lead for Nike with 6 players against 4 for adidas. Note that Fila is on a par with the German equipment manufacturer.

In detail, Nike relies on Nadal, Federer, Dimitrov, Del Potro, Sock and Edmund. For its part, the brand with the three stripes has contracts with Zverev (reviewing its outfit for RG 18), Thiem, Pouille and Berdych. For Fila, the ambassadors present in the Top 20 are Cilic, Isner, Schwartzman and Querrey.

A ranking of the 20 best players that must however be put into perspective since many "bankable" players such as Nishikori, Djokovic, Murray, Kyrgios, Wawrinka, Raonic, Tsonga, Monfils or even Gasquet are not currently listed (see more down). Brands like Uniqlo, Under Armour, New Balance or le coq sportif are absent from the Top 20 by choosing to bet on a headliner with high sponsorship contracts.

TOP 20 equipment manufacturers (textiles)

As for footwear, Nike also dominates the Top 20 with 7 players ahead of adidas and Fila tied with 4 players. If for the last two brands, the 4 players correspond to those equipped with textiles, the swoosh brand equips one more player for shoes than textiles with Chung. The South Korean wears Nike on his feet but evolves with Lacoste polo shirts. For the moment, the crocodile brand no longer offers pairs for high-level practice.

TOP 20 boots

If Wilson is the number 1 racket supplier in the Top 100, it is also in the Top 20. This year, the brand has 7 players (Federer, Dimitrov , Del Potro, Goffin, Carreno Busta, Bautista Agut, Edmund) against 5 for Babolat (Nadal, Thiem, Querrey, Sock, Fognini).

The TOP 20 ATP rackets

TOP 100 players taken into account (05/21/2018)

1/ Nadal2/ Federer3/ A. Zverev4/ Cilic5/ Dimitrov6/ Del Potro7/ Anderson8/ Thiem9/ Goffin10/ Isner11/ Carreno Busta12/ Schwartzman13/ Querrey14/ Bautista Agut15/ Sock16/ Pouille17/ Edmund18/ Berdych19/ Fognini20/ Chung21/ Nishikori22/ Djokovic23/ Kyrgios24/ Kohlschreiber25/ Wawrinka 26/ Shapovalov27/ Mannarino28/ Raonic29 / Krajinovic30/ Dzumhur31/ Rublev32/ Gasquet33/ F. Lopez34/ G. Muller35/ Verdasco36/ Ramos Vinolas37/ Tsonga38/ Monfils39/ Khachanov40/ Tsitsipas41/ Coric42/ Ferrer43/ L. Mayer44/ R. Haase45/ Andy Murray46/ Sujita47/ S. Johnson48 / J. Sousa49/ Gojowczyk50/ Paire51/ Seppi52/ M. Zverev53/ Medvedev54/ Dolgopolov55/ Sandgren56/ Harrison57/ Donaldson58/ Millman59/ Jarry60/ Fucsovics61/ Tiafoe62/ Benneteau63/ Jaziri64/ Bedene65/ Basilashvili66/ Delbonis67/ Struff 68/ Lajovic69/ Marterer70/ Fritz71 / Garcia-Lopez72/ Cecchinato73/ Ebden74/ Lorenzi75/ Gilles Simon76/ Cuevas77/ Carballes Baena78/ Donskoy79/ Vesely80/ T. Daniel81/ Pella82/ Basic83/ Baghdatis84/ Kicker85/ Thompson86/ Chardy87/ Herbert88/ Pospisil89/ Troicki90/ F. Mayer91/ Kuk ushkin92 / Berankis93/ Karlovic94/ Bhambri95/ Copil96/ Berrettini97/ Albot98/ Istomin99/ Youzhny100/ Lacko