Romania’s Simona Halep has secured a new sponsorship deal with Nike after ending her partnership with Adidas last year.
The world No.2 played the Australian Open in unbranded clothes as her management failed to strike a deal immediately after she ended her contract with Adidas. A rare sighting for a top seeded player in a grand slam tournament. Halep’s Nike deal started to emerge after photo of her playing in the brands clothing emerged on social media.
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No details have been given about the Nike deal. Last month one Romanian media source claimed that the former world No.1 will earn $1.7 million per year under the deal. $700,000 more than what she got with Adidas.
“It’s the best decision I could make, these are the most beautiful clothes I could wear and I am very happy with the financial terms of the deal.” Halep told Digi Sport Romania on Monday.
Halep is scheduled to play her first tournament under the new sponsorship in Doha this week, but fresh doubts have now been raised. During the Australian Open she struggled with an ankle injury despite reaching the final. Shortly after her loss to Caroline Wozniacki, she was admitted to hospital for dehydration.
Seeded second in the Doha Open, Halep will conduct a training session before making her final decision. Handed a bye in the first round, her first match is set to be against either Ekaterina Makarova or Zhang Shuai.
“I will decide in Doha if I play, I want to do a training tomorrow (Tuesday) to see how I feel.” She said. “I understood that my match is scheduled on Wednesday.”
Halep can reclaim the No.1 spot from Wozniacki this week, but she needs to reach at least the quarter-finals. If both players progress to the last eight of the tournament, Halep will need to finish one round ahead of her rival to seal the top spot.
