Chris Evert Stands by 32-Year-Old Romanian Tennis Star’s Brutal Revelation About Adidas

The 18-time singles Grand Slam champion, Chris Evert, is hailed as one of the tennis greats because of her incredible performances on the court. However, the American tennis legend has been quite vocal about social and political issues after her retirement from tennis. Additionally, Evert has often supported various WTA athletes by speaking about issues in sports. Recently, she showed her support for another issue that is rampant, particularly in women’s sports.

The former world no. 1, recently expressed her disappointment with sports apparel giant, Adidas, when she found out about a Romanian tennis star’s criticism of the company. Sorana Cirstea recently slammed the popular sporting brand for preferring looks over substance in women’s tennis.

Chris Evert reacts to Sorana Cirstea’s revelation about Adidas

The Romanian tennis star, during her appearance in a podcast, she talked about the criteria based on which renowned brands provide contracts to tennis players. Sorana Cirstea further highlighted how the good looks of athletes sometimes become more important than their performance on the tennis court. Cirstea previously signed a sponsorship deal with the popular sports brand, Adidas.

However, the Romanian recently revealed certain shocking details about her conversation with Adidas. She pointed out that the sports brand’s marketing team preferred a good-looking, top-20 player to a World No.1 athlete. Cirstea stated, “When I signed a contract with Adidas. They told me: ‘It’s better to be pretty and be in the Top 20 than to be ugly and be no. 1′”

The post on social media by Cirstea also drew the attention of the former American tennis player, Chris Evert. The 18-time singles Grand Slam champion expressed her disappointment when she found out about such marketing approaches toward athletes. Evert used facepalm emojis to react to Cirstea’s post on Twitter.

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The American tennis legend has previously used the online platform to raise awareness about various about breast cancer, being a survivor of the deadly disease herself.

Cirstea talked about an athlete’s geography as a consideration of their marketability

Meanwhile, during the podcast, Sorana Cirstea further expressed her views on an athlete’s geography. She stated that a tennis player’s geography might play a crucial role in deciding their marketability. Cirstea went on to say that a player’s nationality can affect a company’s preference in terms of offering sponsorship deals.

The Romanian tennis star further stated that Great Britain and Spain “sell” well. “Eastern Europe doesn’t really sell!” she said. However, Cirstea further added that an athlete with a strong and distinctive personality can take precedence over other marketing factors.

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