Tennis fans can finally do something they’ve never been able to do before: support their favorite players through merchandise at scale.
Yes, fans have been able to back the likes of Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal, legends with exclusive signature apparel lines. But for any players without their own brands, i.e. 99.9% of tennis athletes, there were no options.
Now, through a partnership between Winners Alliance, 500 Level and the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame, fans can purchase officially licensed player apparel and bobbleheads for more than 25 ATP and WTA players, and that number continues to grow.
“We’re ushering in a new era of tennis licensing where players can fully unlock the value of their names, images and likenesses, and fans can easily find products that celebrate their favorite athletes,” said Rob Sanzillo, chief growth officer at Winners Alliance.
Launched in 2022, Winners Alliance represents the group commercial rights of thousands of athletes worldwide across tennis, cricket, track, basketball and college football.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and 500 Level then act as official licensees, able to secure the rights of each player’s NIL and produce individualized merchandise.
Current players include women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka, Tommy Paul, Jasmine Paolini and more.
Apparel can currently be purchased at 500level.com, including T-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, among other items, marking the first large-scale fan-wear program in professional tennis.
And bobbleheads are currently available at store.bobbleheadhall.com, and it marks the first time the museum will produce and sell tennis bobbleheads.
Where this program really aims to enter the foray of collecting is at tournaments.
In March, 500 Level and Winners Alliance debuted a collection of apparel at the Charleston Open, a WTA 500 tournament held in Charleston, South Carolina. It marked the first time the tournament ever offered officially licensed athlete fanwear on site.
“Fans were coming up to the players with the stuff, and they’d never had their own merchandise,” said Ryan Olli, the director of licensing and head of athlete relations at Winners Alliance. “Even players who are top five, top 10 players all the way down to top 100, 200 ... they just never had that like ever in their lives. So I think it's really cool to see the players enjoy it.”
Barbora Krejčíková, a two-time grand slam singles champion, showed up to Wimbledon this year wearing her own shirts from 500 Level, and even asked for shirts for Jasmine Paolini — whom she beat in the 2024 Wimbledon Final — so she could wear Paolini’s shirts when the two practiced together.
When Liudmila Samsonova, currently ranked No. 17 in the world, and her team saw the shirts, her whole team was taking pictures with the apparel.
“These players have been professional for some of them, five, 10, 15 years, and they've never had anything that they feel like is theirs to support them,” Olli said. “Which is from a traditional American standpoint, like crazy. Like, what do you mean? Like, you don't have anything that would show your support?”
And that is one of the biggest goals of this program, Olli added. Tennis is a very commercialized sport, with massive sponsors such as Rolex, Mercedes-Benz and Grey Goose. But often, much of that money never makes its way to the players. While, of course, the goal of all of this is to drive revenue, it is also to properly represent the players.
All players make the same percentage on the sales of products.
None of the NIL acquisitions came through the ATP and WTA. All negotiations were handled between Winners Alliance and the individual athletes and agents.
And none of this adds any time to players’ already incredibly busy calendars. The tennis offseason, which for some is non-existent, runs essentially from the end of November to the end of December.
"One of the greatest parts of programs like this is that (players) get touch points with fans all over the world, and they don't actually have to do anything,” Olli said. “(And) we're excited to see how collectible these can become.”
When Leylah Fernandez won the D.C. Open in July, merchandise celebrating her victory was available within 24 hours, something tennis has never truly seen at scale.
While obviously Grand Slam events such as the U.S. Open and Wimbledon are target retail locations, local tournaments, such as Charleston or D.C., might offer even bigger and more collectible opportunities.
“If you go to U.S. Open, or you go to Wimbledon, it could be just because you want to say you went there,” Olli said. “Whereas, like going to the Dallas Open, which is still a good tournament, or even the D.C. Open ... that's people who are real fans of tennis. The ones who show up to the 500s, the 250s, the exhibitions.”
“And with tennis being always on, there really are a lot of moments to celebrate something.”
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.