As the highest ranked female tennis player in the world, few would expect Simona Halep to be short of sponsorship deals.
The 2017 French Open finalist has earned over $20 million in prize money so far is her career and has already won 15 WTA titles. She got her new season underway on Monday with a convincing 6-4, 6-1, win over Nicole Gibbs at the Shenzhen Open in China. Despite the triumph, there was something missing from Halep. Her clothing didn’t have any sponsors on them.
Halep was previously supported by clothing brand Adidas, but the deal has recently ended. The news was first broken in December by tennis.life after they spoke with industry sources. At the time Halep’s camp was reluctant to comment about the situation.
The 26-year-old spoke about the departure of Adidas for the first time on Monday following her win in Shenzhen. After confirming the news, Halep openly admitted that she is currently unsure of who will be replacing them. Meaning that she will be wearing plain clothes for the foreseeable future and potentially at the Australian Open if a deal isn’t struck soon.
“With Adidas it’s finished. Yesterday was the last day I was wearing Adidas clothes. I have nothing now,” said Halep. “My manager is looking after this so I have no idea. It’s just the first day of the year and I’m looking forward to see what the future gives me and I’m okay.”
Halep has been with Adidas since 2014 and reportedly received a payment of 1 million euros per year from them. It is understood that the partnership broke down after she requested an increase in her fee given her position of world No.1.
Regardless of a lack of Sponsors, Halep was named Romania’s most successful woman last year by Capital, breaking into the top 300 richest people in her country for the first time. Last year she won over $5 million in prize money alone and successfully defended her title at the Madrid Open. Forbes.com has also ranked her the 10th highest paid female athlete of 2017.
In the midst of searching for a new sponsor, Halep’s immediate focus is on maintaining her No.1 status in Shenzhen this week. She will take on China’s Duan Yingying in the second round.