Swiss label On moves into pro tennis with key signings

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 20, 2023

Swiss sportswear brand On has entered the professional tennis sector, boosting its roster of elite athletes with key signings including Polish world number one and three-time Grand Slam Champion Iga Świątek, as well as American rising star Ben Shelton.

Świątek’s credentials arę already well established and she’s a guaranteed headline-grabber so will be key for the brand’s marketing efforts in future.

Shelton, meanwhile, is at a much earlier stage of his career, but made an impact by reaching the quarterfinal of the Australian Open 2023. His performance at what was only the second Grand Slam of his career, catapulted him higher in the ATP rankings, earning him a position as a top 50 player. The company said that “sports pundits are already hailing him as the next marvel in American men’s tennis”.

Co-CEO, Marc Maurer said the expansion of the firm’s roster into professional tennis “builds on our continued innovation in the fields of high-performance running, and a growing ensemble of world-class track and long-distance athletes, many of whom have claimed World Championship titles and Olympic medals”.

Both players will be wearing its newly developed on-court collection for professional competition and custom editions of The Roger Pro. The competition tennis shoe has been “Swiss-engineered and designed individually for and in close collaboration with both players, Roger Federer and the Lightning innovation team at On Labs to meet the demands of their individual styles of game”.

Moving to an even earlier career stage, On has also signed 16-year-old Brazilian player João Fonseca. He made his ATP main-draw debut at the 2023 Rio Open and reached the final of the 2023 Australian Open boys' doubles tournament with Alexander Blockx. 

Roger Federer, is a tennis champion many times over and invested in On back in 2019. He said of the latest news: “Iga and Ben represent the next generation of world-class talent. Both players demonstrate On’s competitive spirit and embody current and future champions of the sport. We are pleased to welcome them to the family.”