Yonex, one of the leading tennis raqcuet manufacturers and a sponsor of Aussie brat Nick Kyrgios, has taken a step in trying to protect its brand image by fining players who smash its racquets during on-court tantrums.
According to Fairfax, Yonex has introduced a first-of-its-kind contract clause that entitles the manufacturer to take away some of the retainer payed to players it sponsors for every racquet they smash.
Aside from Kyrgios, Yonex’s clients include women’s world number one Angelique Kerber, three-time grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka and Aussie hot head Daria Gavrilova.
Fairfax noted that it was unclear whether Kyrgios has renewed or extended his contract with Yonex since the company slowly began introducing the clause in all of its clients’ contracts at the end of 2016.
The Aussie tennis star was fined $3,308 by the governing body for racquet abuse during his second-round loss to Italian Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open last week, and would face another fine if he has extended his deal with Yonex to include the manufacturer’s latest clause.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g2kaHfdc9Q
