By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, March 20, 2023
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and American standout Ben Shelton are stepping into Roger Federer's shoes.
Reigning Roland Garros and US Open champion Swiatek and Australian Open quarterfinalist Shelton have both signed apparel and shoe sponsorship pacts with Swiss sportswear brand On.
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Both players will wear the brand's newly developed on-court collection for pro players and custom editions of The Roger Pro.
The brand said in a statement the "On 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."
Bearing the tagline “Swiss Engineering Meets the Swiss Maestro”, Roger Pro was formally launched last April featuring a small Swiss flag near the heel with its name “The Roger” embedded in gold type above the flag.
"Iga and Ben represent the next generation of world-class talent," Federer said in a statement. "Both players demonstrate On's competitive spirit and embody current and future champions of the sport. We are pleased to welcome them to the On family."
Swiatek, who previously wore Asics shoes and apparel, said she's pumped to join the brand co-owned by Swiss superstar Federer.
"I'm very excited to be the first female player to join with On, and truly thrilled how On's Lightning innovation team works and adapts technologies to meet the demands of athletes, supporting their careers," Swiatek said. "It has been very inspirational for me to develop my ideas and needs with them, working on my current and future gear.
"On's core values are what connect me with the company. I look forward to growing with the brand and setting an example for other players who aim to be the best."
Though the pair have not met, Swiatek said Federer's presence with On was important.
"Well, from my side, I think just the fact that Roger is involved in that kind of company is just a good kind of recommendation for tennis players," said Swiatek, who wore her new On kit to her Miami Open press conference announcing her withdrawal. "I think also he influenced a lot on their side, so that's why they want to go further and they want to sign players. But I'm pretty happy that we could make it happen because I feel like we share the same values.
"They have, like, kind of a personal approach for the players. I feel like it's treating me first like a person but not mainly as a machine to win, you know? It's a nice feeling to have that kind of support. I'm really happy that I'm starting this new chapter."
The three-time Grand Slam champion is not averse to change. Swiatek previously played with a Prince racquet before switching to her now trademark Tecnifibre stick three years ago.
Explosive left-hander Shelton jolted the tennis world soaring into the Australian Open quarterfinals in his AO debut and his maiden trip outside of the United States back in January.
At the age of 20, Shelton has already risen to world No. 39 though he's played on two Grand Slam tournaments.
The 2022 NCAA champion at Florida recently pushed defending Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz to three sets at the BNP Paribas Open. Shelton, who previously wore New Balance, is widely regarded as one of tennis' top rising stars.
"As someone in the early stage of my professional career and a challenger on the tour, I love that I've partnered with a company that has years of experience in sports performance and is looking to take over a new sport like tennis," Shelton said. "I'm really pumped to be the first male tennis player sponsored by On."
On also announced the signing of the 16-year-old Brazilian player João Fonseca.
The promising South American 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. As a current top ten player in the junior rankings, João advanced to the 2023 Australian Open boys' singles quarterfinal and claimed a 6-0 record in singles to lead Brazil to its first Junior Davis Cup title in 2022.
Photo credit: On