Sania Mirza is a 36-year-old Indian former professional tennis player. One of the biggest names in the game, Mirza won six Grand Slam doubles titles and earned the World No. 1 ranking in doubles tennis multiple times over the course of her career.
For a better part of a decade until her retirement, Mirza was ranked by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) as the No. 1 Indian in singles. She had a career-high singles ranking of 27th and won only one WTA title throughout her singles career.
However, in the doubles circuit, Mirza won 43 WTA titles as well as three women’s doubles and three mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. Her partnership with Martina Hingis saw the pair become the World No. 1 duo while also winning three consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles.
Through her success and longevity, Sania Mirza has gone on to become one of the highest-paid athletes in India. In this article, we look at her sponsorship and endorsement deals.
Also read: Sania Mirza: The making of a tennis legend
In December 2022, Zinda Pain Relief launched its latest product “Zinda Tilismath Balm”, with Mirza starring for the ad campaign. “Zinda Tilismath” is a Unani herbal medicine used for treating many ailments like cold, cough and stomach disorders.
Mirza paired up with Dyson India in November 2022, penning a sponsorship deal for the latter’s latest line of air purifiers. Dyson is a British company that designs and manufactures household appliances such as vacuum cleaners and air purifiers.
On 25 November 2022, Downy Arabia announced its partnership with Mirza to celebrate the launch of the “Downy All-in-One i3X POWER”. Downy, also known as Lenor is Europe, Russia and Japan, is a brand of fabric softener produced by Procter & Gamble.
Mirza colloborated with Dove in November 2022 with a hard-hitting film highlighting the societal stigma on beauty. In the short film that she shared via Instagram, Mirza narrates her story as a ten-year-old before asking people to share their moments with the hashtag #HowOldWereYou. Dove is a brand owned by multi-national consumer goods company Unilever.
In October 2022, Lakmé Cosmetics roped in Mirza as a brand ambassador. Mirza posted about her latest collaboration with the cosmetics company on her Instagram account. Lakmé is an Indian cosmetics brand owned by Hindustan Unilever.
In September 2022, Livogen, an Indian iron supplements brand, announced its partnership with Mirza with a social media collaboration post. The post also had a QR code that viewers could scan to know their anaemia risk status by taking a simple test.
Bournvita is a brand of malted and chocolate malt drink mixes manufactured by Cadbury, a subsidiary of Mondel?z International.
In March 2009, Cadbury India on-boarded Mirza to endorse its then-newly-launched product “Cadbury Bournvita Li’l Champs”. As part of the promotional campaign, the company launched a television campaign depicting Mirza’s transformation from a toddler to a tennis champion after the consumption of the new product.
At the time, the announcement of her marriage with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik had dented Mirza’s commercial appeal, because of which, along with several other brands, Cadbury India decided not to renew its deal with her.
In July 2022, however, Mirza and Bournvita came together once again to collaborate on a short film that highlighted some important messages, like how to look at failure and deal with it.
Mirza and Bollywood movie director and producer Karan Johar collaborated for a commercial with Fireboltt. The ad was released in July 2022, announcing Fireboltt’s emergence as India’s No. 1 smartwatch brand.
A couple of weeks before India’s 75th Independence day, Mirza and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance launched the #PlankToThank campaign through the former’s Instagram handle. The campaign asked viewers to plank to thank the Indian armed forces with every photo or video uploaded contributing monetarily towards facilitating a re-skilling programme for retired defence officials.
Cellecor Mobile and Accessories, an Indian affordable mobile phones brand, roped in Mirza in July 2022 in a paid partnership to promote its latest line of earphones and accessories. Mirza announced her association with the brand via an Instagram post.
The Green Rising is a virtual celebration of Earth and all the people that are making a conscious effort to save it. In June 2022, Mirza became the latest to join the long line of athletes and celebrities endorsing this initiative. Among sportspersons, there are the likes of Virat Kohli, Umesh Yadav, Harbhajan Singh, while the list of Bollywood celebrities include the likes of Karan Johar, Malaika Arora and Ananya Pandey.
The German skin care company roped in Mirza in June 2022 to endorse its latest line of baby products. The company released a statement that read:
“While the Indian tennis champion, Sania Mirza aces her game, part of her also instinctively wants to be hands-on with Izhan!
“Sebamed India has been her ally & a support through this motherhood journey to take away the pressure of deciding what’s best for her baby’s skin.“
In January 2022, edtech platform beGalileo signed up Mirza as a brand ambassador, with her association aimed at augmenting awareness about the brand and its relevance during children’s formative years. Speaking on the association, Mirza said at the time:
“My association with beGalileo couldn’t have come at a better time as I start to think for my child’s learning & upbringing and for an innovative & popular brand like beGalileo as they leap frogs as game-changer in young kid’s learning.“
In 2018, Centuary Mattresses announced the appointment of Mirza as a brand ambassador. The brand launched a nationwide campaign with the tennis star, which was rolled out across various media platforms.
Speaking on her association with the brand, Mirza said at the time:
“I always endorse the brands that I believe in and brands I associate myself with on a personal level as well. I am proud to be associated with Centuary Mattresses as we both share the same vision of dreaming big to achieve greater successes and the power of better sleep to chase those dreams. India ka sleep specialist is now my sleep specialist too.“
Uni cards, a Bangalore-based fintech company, roped in Mirza alongside Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal to star in its latest ad campaign. The ad promoted Uni’s instant credit cards, via which the cardholder gets the benefit of paying off any purchase made in three instalments.
In March 2022, Unlu Class roped in Mirza as one of its mentors alongside a star-studded line-up of superstars in their respective fields, including the likes of Ruskin Bond, Manoj Bajpayee and Monali Thakur among many.
As per the press release, Mirza personally demonstrates different techniques she applies to her game. While some techniques are basic to tennis players, Mirza has also revealed some of her secret techniques.
With border restrictions easing and vaccination programmes gaining momentum, Booking.com launched the “Booking Explorers” campaign in September 2021. As part of the campaign, the company announced Mirza as its “India Explorer”.
Mirza, along with other leading personalities from the Asia Pacific region, shared their treasured travel memories to re-ignite travel inspiration and make people go back to what was always the normal as part of the campaign.
While the exact date for the start of this association remains undisclosed, with some photographs and opinions suggesting it dating back to 2018, Mirza was also seen wearing a Raw Mango sharara set for the nikaah ceremony of her sister Anam in 2019.
At a more recent event, Mirza was one of six female icons that were part of Mango’s new campaign called “More Than Pretty”, aimed at celebrating International Women’s Day. Alongside Mirza, the campaign featured Vineeta Singh, Kamiya Jani, Priyanka Khimani, Mandira Bedi and Dhvani Bhanusali.
In November 2021, J. Fragrances launched two new fragrances, “All-Rounder” and “Smash”, in collaboration with one of the Subcontinent’s most adored couples, Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza. J. Fragrances was established in 2002 and has expanded its reach across Pakistan and abroad.
“We have designed the perfume bottles with the personalities of both the stars in mind. Smash is a racquet-shaped bottle that represents Sania Mirza as a tennis player. A rose gold frame around the diamond cut glass bottle encapsulates her fierce personality,” said Muhammad Amir, Creative Head, J. Fragrances about the design process of “Smash”.
As part of an ongoing collaboration with Crypto.com, DeFi the Game – a sports fandom startup – celebrated the duo of Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza by dropping its fourth NFT collection on the NFT marketplace, and was created with two other curated creators from the platform’s community: digital fashion company DRESSX and multidisciplinary visual artist Damien Cifelli. Announced just in time for Malik’s 40th birthday celebration, the “MetaCouple: Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik Collection” was launched on February 8, 2022.
In 2017, Adidas roped in Mirza as a global brand ambassador. She was also endorsed by Adidas as a junior, an association that ended in 2005.
At the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, in an unusual turn of events, Mirza was pictured donning both the Adidas and Nike kits simultaneously. When asked, she said that she didn’t have a contract in place with either of the two, and that it was just out of affection and years of habit with the brands more than anything else that she wore kits of both of them.
Home-grown FMGG firm Emami Ltd announced Mirza as a brand ambassador of the hair oil and shampoo products of its then-newly-acquired Kesh King brand in December 2015.
“Bringing in Sania Mirza as an endorser to this brand will help us generate enough attention among its target markets and audience,” Emami Ltd Director Priti Sureka said at the time. “The ayurvedic hair oil category is one of the most dynamic areas of growth in the Indian hair care market,” she added.
Pain reliever brand Volini announced its association with Mirza alongside Indian footballer Sunil Chhetri as brand ambassadors in November 2015. Furthering its ethos of innovation, the brand released a 360-degree spray that enables the can to produce a uniform spray pattern for optimal coverage.
Talking about her association, Sania saidat the time: “As an athlete, I understand the importance of an effective pain reliever as I battle pain all the time. I push myself to achieve the next level each time and Volini has been my go to pain reliever till now. Today, I am very delighted to be part of such a trusted brand and its journey to relieve pain from people’s lives. When I’m on court, pain strikes me at any part of my body and this revolutionary 360 degree spray is the perfect solution as it ensures that athletes like me get effective relief at all angles of use.“
With Sprite, Mirza signed an endorsement deal reportedly worth ?65 lakh back in 2006. In 11 Feb 2006, Sprite, Cola-Cola’s fastest-growing carbonated brand in India at the time, unveiled a TVC featuring India’s then-teen tennis icon, Sania Mirza.
As part of its ambitious target and aggressive strategy, Tata Tea launched an advertising campaign featuring Sania Mirza in 2006. Mirza was seen on the TV screens to display a perfect blend of mental and physical agility with Tata Tea Premium. The ad campaign featured Mirza in her quest for success as she battled the burden of expectations of an entire nation and the responsibilities that come with being a popular and admired youth icon and sports personality.
The start of 2013 saw Tata Indicom rope in Mirza as a brand ambassador, with the launch of a limited-edition, signature series of handsets called “Sania Fone”.
Prabhat Pani, COO of AP and Karnataka Circle of Tata Teleservices, said at the time: “The youth is a big market for Tata Indicom, and the launch of Sania Fone is one such effort to connect with this segment.“
In 2009, TVS Motor Company roped in Mirza to endorse the Streak Scooty, with Mirza’s glamourous avatar making her presence felt as the new-age woman in the TVS Streak commercial.
German banking major Deutsche Bank signed Mirza as a brand ambassador to enhance its visibility in the retail segment in 2006. As per reports, the German bank decided on a graded structure for the tennis star, with figures close to ?1.5 crore to ?2 crore having been reported at the time to be paid as base fee for two seasons.
The deal expired and wasn’t renewed following reported protests and controversies surrounding Mirza’s personal life. However, she was again roped in as a brand ambassador by the German bank in 2013, after the bank started its India operations a few months prior to announcing the association.
Sportswear manufacturer Lotto Sport Italia, which entered the Indian market during the last months of 2004, roped in a young Sania Mirza to represent its brand in the country in March 2005. The agreement was signed in the presence of tennis star Mahesh Bhupati and Sunil Taneja, MD, Sierra Industrial Enterprise Private Limited (SEPL).
Taneja, whose company SEPL was licensed to sell Lotto products in the country, said at the time: “The focus of our marketing strategy is to identify and promote youth talent. Sania is a youth icon. She is the new craze and a household name like the Williams and Hingis of this world, and hence is the apt choice to represent our brand.“
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