Emma Raducanu has been dropped by Vodafone after reportedly pushing things too far in negotiations. Raducanu is trying to rediscover her best form following a sustained period of injuries and enjoyed some success at the Miami Open last month, where she reached the quarter finals.
The 22-year-old shot into the spotlight by winning the US Open in 2021 and immediately became a public figure. Her remarkable victory of a Major at the age of just 18 attracted plenty of attention and she has amassed 2.6m followers on Instagram.
Her success also sparked many big brands into action, with Raducanu quickly signing up to promote their products. She has been prolific in the commercial market, signing deals with Nike, HSBC, Tiffany, Evian, Porsche, Wilson and British Airways.
But there has been a bump in the road with Vodafone, who began working with Raducanu back in December 2021 at a cost of £3million per year. The telecommunications giant has reportedly now decided to backtrack and has dropped the British tennis star.
The Mail on Sunday reports that Raducanu was axed because she was demanding too much money. She had previously been one of the faces of the company, appearing in glossy adverts around Wimbledon and becoming a digital avatar on Piccadilly Circus back in the summer of 2022.
Mirror Sport has contacted Vodafone and Raducanu’s representatives to request comment.
Raducanu is currently ranked No.47 in the world and is attempting to climb the rankings after rekindling her love for the sport in 2024 following a prolonged absence from tennis after undergoing double wrist surgery in 2023.
She has banked $4,905,443 (£3,709,888) in prize money throughout her tennis career, but has earned much more off the court. According to Forbes, she was the sixth highest-paid female athlete in the world in 2024, having pulled in $12m (£9m) from off-court sources.
That meant that despite her struggles to stay fit and compete, she was behind only the much-higher-ranked group of Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Qinwen Zheng, Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka for earnings.
The Mail reports that Raducanu earns around £100,000 each from her deals with Nike and Wilson with a further £2m stemming from deals with Dior and Tiffany and Co. Vodafone had been the most lucrative of all of her deals, but it has now come to an end.
Raducanu changed her coaching set-up for the Miami Open and felt the more relaxed atmosphere had helped up her tennis more again.
“I wasn’t necessarily feeling great about my tennis, about everything, but this week I have some really good people around me who I trust and who I have fun with off the court, and that’s extremely important,” she said.
Raducanu is now in talks with Mark Petchey for the commentator to become her full-time coach following a split with Nick Cavaday in January.
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