Emma Raducanu's brutal shelf life warning and when more sponsors may start pulling out

Pressure is growing on Emma Raducanu to revitalise her tennis career if she's to keep bagging big-name endorsement deals. The former US Open champion has attracted a slew of substantial sponsorships since storming the scene in New York nearly five years ago but hasn't managed to build on that success.

Her latest disappointment came at the Australian Open on Wednesday when she was knocked out by Anastasia Potapova.

The No. 28 seed has made it beyond the third round of a Grand Slam just once in 13 attempts since her iconic win at Flushing Meadows in 2021, stirring conversation as to whether she's cut out for long-term success at the elite level. That will inevitably impact her desirability with major brands, many of whom expect to see their clients front and centre at some of the biggest events in their field.

The Daily Mail reported last year that Vodafone had ended its £3million-a-year deal with Raducanu, though she still has a number of lucrative agreements with other big companies. That security can't be guaranteed in the long run, however, especially if frequent injuries continue to hold Raducanu back. And sport finance expert Dr. Rob Wilson raised caution regarding her marketability and how a lack of tennis titles will eventually see her endorsements run dry, like any other athlete.

Speaking to Genting Casino in 2024, Wilson said: "Emma Raducanu is marketable but the level of that will come down to sporting performance, whether that will be in the top echelons of the sport remains to be seen.

"She certainly has the raw talent, but what we also see in female tennis as compared to male tennis is that you don't get the same longevity as when you look at Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic - with the exception of Steffi Graf, Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova.

"You tend to find that female athletes come and go with tennis, so they'll have two or three years at the top and then that can change. I'll be interested to see if we're still talking about Emma Raducanu in seven or eight years' time as an elite tennis player [who is] qualifying routinely for [WTA] and Grand Slams, even if she doesn't win them."

There were murmurs Raducanu had been dropped as a sponsor by Porsche in 2024 after the German car manufacturer took back the "freebie" car she received in 2022.

However, a spokesperson for the company confirmed she was still on its roster of ambassadors.

"Emma Raducanu is a global brand ambassador for Porsche and there have not been any changes within our successful partnership since it started in 2022," said the spokesperson. "We are very happy with our partnership."

It was also speculated that Raducanu had lost her sponsorship deal with French fashion brand Dior in early 2025. There has been no official confirmation of that termination, though her role appears to have at least been downgraded after Qinwen Zheng seemed to take her role as the company's main tennis ambassador.

As things stand, the 23-year-old appears to have retained contracts with the likes of Nike, Evian, Tiffany & Co, Wilson, HSBC and British Airways. That's in addition to recently signing a new deal with Emirates Airlines, which is supposedly worth around £1.5m annually on its own.

So while long-term success in her tennis career is by no means assured, Raducanu's draw as a sponsor remains intact for the time being. Wilson concurred, adding: "Emma Raducanu will keep hold of sponsors at the moment because she is very marketable and speaks very well, she's a sponsor's dream.

They can activate that even when she's not winning tournaments because she is very recognisable and has the right personality."