In 2017, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Rubber Industries) acquired the marketing and manufacturing rights of the Dunlop brand overseas sports business from Sports Direct in the UK. Complementing its existing rights in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, the Group set out to expand global outreach to further develop its tennis business to elevate the core Dunlop Tires division by establishing tennis as the flagship sport.
Investment in Tennis: The Most Impactful Sport
Do you know which sport is the most popular in the world? Football ranks as the most popular, with 3.5 billion viewers. Recall the Japanese team victories against Germany and Spain, reaching the top 16 in the 2022 World Cup. Cricket is second, attracting 2.5 billion viewers, and hockey 2 billion viewers. Tennis is believed to have one billion viewers. Given that the world’s population is around 8 billion, these sports attract a significant fan base. (Reference: WorldAtlas)
Let’s examine the characteristics of each sport. Football thrives with professional leagues in countries worldwide, with well-known clubs and elite players. Cricket and hockey are popular in the Commonwealth and former UK territories.
Tennis, a non-team sport, is practiced all over the world, with professionals competing in ATP tours for men and WTA for women. In the 2023 ATP circuit, the four Grand Slams considered the premier events, followed by the ATP finals, NextGen ATP finals, Masters (nine tournaments), ATP500, and ATP250. The tournaments in Europe accounted for half of the total, the Americas for 25%, and Asia-Pacific for 20%.
Performance area are now global. Brand-sponsored players compete worldwide. For Dunlop, aiming for brand leveraging on an international scale, tennis offered a significant impact.
Trilateral Win-Win-Win Situation
A win-win partnership emerged between Tennis Australia and the Dunlop brand: Tennis Australia aimed to attract fans from Asia-Pacific countries, including Japan, to the Australian Open, by ensuring the players’ trust through quality infrastructure and services, such as official balls. Meanwhile, Dunlop sought to expand its tennis operations through the acquisition of the Dunlop brand’s overseas business and to leverage the brand for its tire sector growth. As the interests aligned, they began collaborating.
They aimed to elevate their brand images and attract younger fans, resulting in creating a trilateral “win-win-win” situation for Tennis Australia, Dunlop brand, and professional and amateur players.
Historically, the Australian Open is the last established Grand Slam event and is geographically distant from the major courts in Europe and Americas, where other Grand Slams such as the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open are held. Taking place in January, following the off-season and holiday season, many players used to skip the tournament in favor of other Grand Slams.
The game-changer was the way of thinking of “dedication to players and fans.” By creating an atmosphere that allows players to perform to their maximum potential, including providing both the infrastructure and services (high-quality official balls, surfaces), the matches would become the event’s first and foremost attraction. Core fans would be thrilled by the outstanding matches, and non-core fans would find the event as enjoyable entertainment.
The Australian Open, through decades of continuous efforts, has established itself as one of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Now known as the “Happy Slam” or the “Grand Slam of Asia-Pacific,” it attracts the most spectators among the Grand Slams. In 2023, it welcomed a record 840,000 spectators during the two-week main competition.
Examples of Partnership Activities
I would like to share some examples of partnership activities based on our collaboration with the Australian Open.
1. Quality of the Ball
Players’ performances depend on the balls, a crucial component of the tournament’s infrastructure. As a manufacturer that has provided official balls for many tournaments, we ensure that the players and Tennis Australia recognize the quality of our balls, which is our strength. We emphasized that we are committed to providing high-quality balls consistently, as we have done in the past.
2. Familiarizing Players with the Ball
Elite professional players with refined senses may find it challenging to adjust to new balls, regardless of their quality. To overcome this barrier and potentially as a game-changer, we introduced a practice ball provision program during the off-season. Players are geographically dispersed during this time. In collaboration with our global supply chain, we delivered balls to players, enabling them to become accustomed to our balls and prepare to their full potential for the Australian Open. We dedicated our efforts to providing players with this attentive service program.
3. Fostering Junior Players
The development of junior players in the Asia-Pacific area is crucial for the future of the tennis community and business growth in the medium to long term. However, there are fewer events in Asia-Pacific compared to Europe and Americas, and fewer elite junior players compete against each other. As mentioned earlier, the abundance of tournaments and the number of players contributes to why many of the best talents are from Europe and the Americas. Especially in Europe, athletes can participate in a series of tournaments held in neighboring countries at relatively low touring costs, enjoying a favorable competition environment where they regularly have the chance to play with top performers to improve their skills.
In partnership with concerned parties, Dunlop now organizes the “Road to the Australian Open Junior Series,” where top junior players from the Asia-Pacific area compete for a chance to be recommended for the Australian Open Junior Championships. This initiative serves the future tennis community by providing opportunities for rising stars in junior sports from diverse countries and cultures to meet, compete, and advance to higher levels.
These constant efforts have led to an increase in the adoption of Dunlop balls as the official ball in the ATP tour (men’s professional tournament): from less than 20% in 2018, when the partnership with the Australian Open began, to over 30% in 2019 (the largest share of official balls), and more than 40% from 2021 onward.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games officially adopted our balls, a testament to the trust we have earned from tournaments, players, and associations. As a tennis brand, we take great pride in having contributed to the world’s largest sports event, which has stimulated Japanese society and its interest in sports.
In 2022, after more than four years of the five-year contract have passed, Tennis Australia and Sumitomo Rubber Industries reevaluated their partnership. Then, on the eve of the Australian Open, January 15, 2023, the contract was renewed. We embarked on a new journey with the goal of further developing the sports and tennis communities, as well as the tennis industry.
◇SUZUKAZE Shogo
Head of Global Marketing & Professional Tour Group, Tennis Business Division, Sports Business HQ, Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd.
He graduated from the Faculty of Business and Commerce at Keio University and holds an MBA from emlyon business school. After university, he worked for a major global IT company. During his time in Lyon, France, he set up “marches” (open-air markets) and stalls at various events and managed an atelier to promote recognition and understanding of Japan and Asia. He was the first Japanese responsible for the Japanese market at Babolat, a French tennis brand founded in 1875 with 150-year history. Since 2018, he has been with Sumitomo Rubber Industries, which acquired the Dunlop brand overseas business with the goal of increasing brand value via tennis and expanding global reach.
*The author’s affiliation and title are as of February 2023 when the article was written.
