WASHINGTON, February 24, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Emma Raducanu is the latest high-profile tennis player to leave Nike. On Tuesday, Uniqlo introduced Raducanu, Great Britain’s top-ranked female tennis player, as its newest Global Brand Ambassador.
In a social media post on Instagram, Uniqlo wrote: “Emma will champion UNIQLO’s LifeWear philosophy, which is committed to pursuing excellence, making meaningful contributions to society, and empowering the next generation.”
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While the deal is reportedly worth $3.5 million annually (approximately £2.6 million), the World No. 25 Raducanu’s switch to Uniqlo, which takes effect immediately, follows in the footsteps of Roger Federer. Nearly eight years ago, Federer signed a 10-year, $300 million partnership with the Japanese casual wear brand in July 2018, following his departure from Nike. His deal, which began at Wimbledon 2018, is worth an estimated $30 million per year and continues to pay him annually into his retirement, focusing on global brand ambassadorship rather than on-court performance.
Unlike Federer, the 23-year-old Raducanu, is still very much an active player, whose career-high ranking of World No. 10 was achieved in the summer of 2022, following title her run to the 2021 US Open women’s singles championship as an 18-year-old qualifier. She signed with Nike at age 15, three years before she won her US Open title – her only professional title to date.
Raducanu’s departure from Nike follows fellow British star Jack Draper, who last August left the famous U.S. sports brand for Vuori, a Southern California athleisure brand. In recent years, two top American players, Taylor Fritz (Boss) and Frances Tiafoe (Lululemon), also left Nike. However, Nike still sponsors some of the biggest names in professional tennis, including both current World No. 1 players Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, as well as Jannik Sinner and Naomi Osaka.
The announcement by Uniqlo in Tokyo, Japan, comes a day after it put out a teaser post with a partial photo of the body of a female tennis player, accompanied by the caption: “We’re proud to welcome a new face.”
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Raducanu said in a statement: “I am very pleased to join Uniqlo and to work closely with its amazing team of global brand ambassadors. Uniqlo and I share many values and perspectives on life, culture, and society. I am excited to promote LifeWear through my tennis career, and to working with everybody at Uniqlo to inspire and engage young people everywhere.”
Besides Raducanu and Federer, 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic wore Uniqlo tennis apparel between 2012 and 2017 before leaving for Lacoste, and Japanese No. 1 and former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori has been sponsored by the Tokyo-based brand since 2011.
Raducanu will make her Uniqlo debut at the BNP Paribas Open, a WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells, Calif., next week.
