Tennis player Andy Murray "is playing in Adidas shoes at the U.S. Open this week," despite having "signed a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal with rival Under Armour," according to Sara Germano of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The shoe "snafu underscores the relative newness" of UA's sneaker business -- the Baltimore-based company "doesn’t yet have a commercially available tennis-specific shoe." For tennis’s midsummer grass-court season, Murray "debuted custom Under Armour sneakers, including an all-white pair at Wimbledon." In his first two matches at the U.S. Open, Murray "took to Arthur Ashe Stadium wearing blue Adidas sneakers." Murray said that he had been "testing Under Armour’s hard court shoes in development but as of yet 'they just weren’t quite right.'" After Murray "first appeared in Flushing this week sporting its shoes, Adidas seized upon the opportunity to market the moment." A tweet sent by the adidas Tennis account read, “You can choose armour, or you can choose a weapon." An Under Armour spokesperson said its footwear team "is currently in the wear-test process with Andy to perfect his hard court footwear." adidas "declined to comment" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/4).
ACROSS THE POND: CNBC.com's Jessica Golden wrote as UA grows, Murray "brings brand exposure in a new market -- Europe." The development of a UA tennis sneaker would "mark an even bigger bet on the sport." Analysts said that tennis footwear and apparel in the U.S. "is a tiny market, and one that's in decline." Sterne Agee Managing Dir Sam Poser said that one of the reasons for the decline is that tennis apparel "hasn't been fashionable off the court" since the Andre Agassi era of the '90s (CNBC.com, 9/3).
