The Professional Tennis Players Association’s (PTPA) for-profit affiliate, Winners Alliance, has announced a partnership with Fanatics Collectibles to license a broad-scale group trading card set program, giving professional tennis players to opportunity to feature on exclusive player cards.
The deal will be facilitated through Fanatics’ cornerstone brand, Topps, becoming the first group licensing agreement in the history of professional tennis.
The ground-breaking agreement will see Fanatics produce an annual set of player trading cards for the next two decades, retaining the right to use the name, image, and likeness of professional women’s and men’s players who opt into the group licensing agreement.
Additionally, the PTPA will expand the program to welcome additional players, as part of Winner Alliance’s vision to establish a program that generates incremental revenues for players while also contributing to the growth of tennis.
Commenting on the partnership, Fanatics Collectibles VP of global licensing and partner development, Kelvin Smith, said: “With Fanatics Collectibles’ focus on reaching new audiences and enhancing the collector experience, we’re thrilled to be bringing the trading card hobby to tennis fans around the world for the first time.”
Women’s world number five player, Ons Jabeur, added: “What an amazing opportunity for players to be part of an annualized tennis trading card program featuring dozens of women’s and men’s players.
“This deal, and the future deals to come, will not only increase the financial upside for players – but they will also help grow the game for generations to come,” she said.
This announcement comes after Fanatics scored a landmark uniform partnership with the NHL.
