Rolex Renews Sponsorship Deal With Revamped Shanghai Masters 

Rolex has renewed its sponsorship deal with the Shanghai Masters ATP 1000 tennis tournament. 

Under the agreement, the Swiss luxury watch brand will continue to be a title sponsor of the competition running from 2023 to 2032.

After its pandemic hit absence for the past three years, the Masters will be back this October . It will run from October 4th through to 15th, which includes China’s Golden Week National Holiday, in a revamped format.

The tournament reportedly one of the highest remunerated men’s events, is all set to be expanded from a one week affair to twelve days, and will feature  96 players, instead of the traditional 56, as part of the ATP’s 30-year plan. 

The plan announced in 2021, gives 30-year licenses to the current Master 1000 events, turning them all into two-week tournaments from this year, with tournaments sharing their net revenue evenly with the players. All media deals, prize money distribution, and tour structures have also been locked in until the 2050s.

Rolex has backed the tournament since its debut in 2009, and was made the title sponsor the following year.  

The tournament is organised by Shanghai Juss Sports Industry Development (Group), which Shanghai’s local government owns. The company also acts as the race promoter of motor racing’s Shanghai Formula 1 Grand Prix.

According to ASN data,  Rolex has pumped in almost US$4m with a 3.2% share for its category in the Asian sponsorship market since Q220.  US$493k has been invested in the Q123, making it a significant 32.9% rise compared to the average quarterly investment of  almost US$372k. The Swiss luxury watch brand typically spends over half of its budget on South Korea (27.7%) and China (22.5%), focusing on tennis, golf and motorsports deals.