Fanatics formally unveils licensing deal for new tennis cards

Topps will be taking to the court soon.

Fanatics revealed on Thursday that it has signed a group-licensing deal with Winners Alliance, the group representing some members of the Professional Tennis Players Association, to create tennis card products.

Players who opt in to the Alliance will be featured in an annual tennis release as part of the deal. Full details were not revealed but "Fanatics Collectibles has committed to creating an annual series of player trading cards for the next two decades," according to the company's statement. The deal will cover both men's and women's stars in the licensing agreement.

"The PTPA and Winners Alliance are true leaders in the sport of tennis, and we’re incredibly excited for Topps to be their exclusive trading card partner," said Kelvin Smith, Fanatics Collectibles VP of Global Licensing & Partner Development in a prepared release. "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."

The move is apparently the first blanket deal for players to appear on tennis cards, but companies such as NetPro, Ace Authentic and Leaf Trading Cards have released tennis sets off and on since the 1990s with players likely signed to individual deals to appear. Topps previously released a pair of tennis sets with a deal with the International Tennis Hall of Fame for a set in 2019 and then a Topps Transcendent set in 2020. Last year, it did a deal with Emma Raducanu to produce a set focusing on her career.

The Alliance started August 2022 to "generate and maximize off-the-court commercial opportunities for players and their agents, emulating the successful model of players associations in other sports" with other products on its radar being video games and other collectibles and related creations.

"We're excited to continue supporting athletes in maximizing their collective power and achieving their full potential," said Ahmad Nassar, the Executive Director of PTPA and the CEO of Winners Alliance.

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