When sponsors line up players with massive deals, they expect them to win every match they play. The player’s success is directly tied to the amount of traction that they can get for their brand. While almost every case would hold true in this regard, the scenario of Novak Djokovic wasn’t exactly the same for one of his sponsors. Earlier this week, the likes of Sam Querrey and Jack Sock unearthed an interesting story of how a brand parted ways with Djokovic due to his immense success.

Back in 2009, Djokovic signed a 10-year partnership with Sergio Tacchini as his apparel partner. This came after Djokovic ended his association with Adidas. During that time, the Serb was in his prime and it was a major signing for the brand. However, every coin has two sides and Sergio Tacchini had to shell out bonuses for Djokovic as he dug deep in almost every tournament he played.

Narrating this tale on the Nothing Major podcast, Sam Querrey said, “Remember hearing that back in the day when Novak was with Sergio Tacchini for 4-5 years and the rumor was that he was essentially putting them out of business because he kept winning every major.” Further, recollecting that incident, Jack Sock added, “He made them bankrupt, didn’t he?”

Querrey continued, “And even in the Masters, he triggered bonus after bonus after bonus. They’re not Nike, they’re like oops, Novak’s so much, they couldn’t continue and they dropped him.”

Djokovic enjoyed some of the best days of his career in Sergio Tacchini’s clothes. He won a staggering 84.7% of his matches during that tenure and also achieved the World Number 1 rank. When the deal between them was signed, the brand promised Djokovic bonuses for his wins but the company eventually fell behind on payments to Djokovic. As a result, the two parted ways in 2012 in one of the most dramatic episodes of Djokovic’s illustrious career.

However, Djokovic’s winning ways weren’t the only problems for the brand. A renowned journalist highlighted how the brand was a misfit in major markets like the United States.

Novak Djokovic’s former sponsor wasn’t good at designs

Initially, Sergio Tacchini onboarded Djokovic with a relatively small fee which would add on if Djokovic kept winning trophies. However, while the latter was true, the brand couldn’t make the payouts to Djokovic as promised which led the two to separation. Additionally, a journalist, Darren Rovell, also pointed out other problems with the brand.

He revealed, “There were also design problems in that some of the outfits it put Djokovic in weren’t popular in the United States, where the biggest market exists to sell high-end tennis gear. But the biggest problem was distribution. Many of Djokovic’s Grand Slam outfits never even made to the United States, including the apparel he wore when he won last year’s US Open.”

A couple of years back, South Korean clothing company F&F acquired Sergio Tacchini for US$63 million. However, Djokovic wasn’t the only tennis star to endorse the brand. Even John McEnroe was seen sporting the brand’s apparel. Nonetheless, the company couldn’t make it big despite boasting tremendous star power in their ranks.