Swiss Roger Federer on July 3, 2022 on center court at Wimbledon, during a ceremony celebrating the court’s 100th anniversary (AFP/Archives/Adrian DENNIS)
From his professional debut in 1998 to the announcement of his retirement on Thursday, Roger Federer has used his presence at the top of world tennis to multiply sources of income and perfect his high-end image.
For Lionel Maltese, an economist specializing in tennis, the birth of the successful “Federer brand” dates back to the beginning of the lifelong partnership he established with the famous watch brand Rolex in 2001.
“Rolex openly focuses its work on principles such as elegance, authenticity, excellence… Federer did not have to force his way of being, he was perfectly aligned with these principles,” he explains. -he.
With a first Grand Slam title won in 2003 at Wimbledon thanks to an offensive and racy style of play, the Swiss quickly attracted high-end sponsors, in keeping with the image he projected on the court.
Wilson, Mercedes-Benz, Moet & Chandon… Renowned firms are investing in the new phenomenon of world tennis, which is beginning to establish its dominance on the ATP circuit, with no less than 15 Grand Slam titles between 2003 and 2010.
Federer also opens the way to the “guarantees” promised by the organizers of tournaments to tennis stars, such as that of Marseille, of which Lionel Maltese was the delegated manager.
“In 1999, we put a five-year guarantee on Roger Federer, for around one million euros,” he recalls. “He was signing these kinds of contracts, he was the one who triggered the guarantee market, which made the tournaments want to have him. A bit like Michael Jordan, he was the person to see.”
– Lucrative exhibitions –
Roger Federer on September 19, 2019 during a press conference at the Laver Cup in Geneva (AFP/Archives/Fabrice COFFRINI)
And a bit like the American basketball star, his image, timeless, crosses the years without deteriorating: according to the economic magazine Forbes, in the year 2019, 93% of its income, estimated at 86 million dollars, comes from its sponsors, even as the former world No.1 is becoming increasingly rare on the courts, the fault of a knee in poor condition.
“He can be criticized, but many players know that if the big brands that follow him put so much money into the circuit, it is largely thanks to him”, decrypts Lionel Maltese, referring to Rolex, a major partner of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
Financial support which Federer does not deprive himself of when organizing extremely lucrative exhibitions, as in 2019, with a tour of South America costing 10 million euros for six matches played in as many days.
He is also the creator of the Laver Cup, an annual confrontation between a European team and another representing the rest of the world without any real sporting legitimacy, but much more fruitful than the historic Davis Cup… And which will therefore be his last professional appearance next week.
“He’s a real entrepreneur, he’s free and does what he wants,” said the Marseille economist about the forties, who has also launched his own brand of sports shoes.
“But he’s really invested, he was on the players’ council, defended them, and showed everyone that to be strong, you need a strong team.”
Federer has always known how to surround himself whether sportingly, with the former world No.3 Ivan Ljubicic, who manages in parallel the interests of the young Italian Matteo Berrettini, or even off the courts where his communication is mastered at the perfection.
– Assumed philanthropist –
The native of Basel, multilingual, sometimes takes on the role of luxury sales representative for his sponsors, but also for his foundation which finances educational projects for children in southern Africa and Switzerland.
Witness the exhibition match played against Rafael Nadal in front of more than 50,000 people in Cape Town in 2020, or an auction of his clothes and equipment the following year which brought in nearly four million euros, for the benefit of the Roger Federer Foundation.
According to Lionel Maltese, “Agassi had set up a foundation with Steffi Graff for his image, while for Federer, it’s really linked to his mother”, born in South Africa, where philanthropy is rooted.
For the specialist in the economy of tennis, the post-career which begins will not be a problem for the “Federer brand”: “I often compare Roger Federer to a dream destination. The attraction is natural, it does not there’s even no need to do marketing anymore. His brand will work.”
© 2022 AFP
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