Free People’s activewear brand, FP Movement, has signed American tennis player and world No. 15, Emma Navarro, to its growing roster of Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) players. As its highest-ranked player and a rising star who’s spent time in the top 10, it’s the loudest signal yet that the brand is betting big on tennis as a key investment in its overall growth.
“Tennis gives us this incredible platform to innovate, and that innovation cascades into our other performance lines like run or studio,” says Jack Reynolds, chief marketing officer at Free People. “The players help us drive credibility and position us as leaders in women’s sport, and they’re really the best product testers out there.”
Navarro was previously signed by Fila, the Italian-founded brand now headquartered in South Korea following an acquisition by its Korean subsidiary in 2007. The move reflects a shifting tennis sponsorship landscape, with classic brands long associated with the professional tour, like Fila, Sergio Tacchini, and Ellesse, being replaced by younger activewear brands like FP Movement, Lululemon, and Vuori. The new entrants offer players higher compensation, according to agents familiar with the deals, and greater creative control through custom looks, helping athletes build their personal brands. For brands, these partnerships offer cultural relevance, direct access to consumers, and a chance to test performance products in one of the few individual sports where personal style shines.
Photo: Courtesy of FP Movement
“It’s really exciting to work with a brand that allows me to add my personal touch to [the kits],” says Navarro while on set for her first FP Movement shoot at the LTP tennis center in Charleston, where she grew up and still lives. “I’ll be wearing outfits that I worked on designing — outfits that I’m really excited to wear and feel like myself in — and I’m excited for people to get a better sense of my style and personality through that.”
With the announcement, FP Movement is selling two new tennis styles that will match some of Navarro’s on-court looks — the Crossover Set, a periwinkle racerback tank with a black skirt and a decorative half-zip vest that she’ll wear for the Australian Open, and the Comeback Set, a more classic white T-shirt and ruffled skirt with navy detailing.
As someone who spends most of her time in athleisure, Navarro said she already had a natural affinity for the brand when conversations started. “I was wearing the brand a lot just on my own,” she says. “I think they do a really good job of making stuff that’s functional and good for performance but also really cute and feminine.”