From Australia to Bologna: How Sponsorship Works in the Davis Cup
Top-tier tennis returns to Italy with the Davis Cup, a competition without a fixed venue—an event that moves like a global caravan, balancing brand consistency, local activation freedom, and new opportunities for suppliers.
The 2025 Davis Cup, the competition in which players represent their national teams, is entering its decisive phase: the world’s top eight nations will face off from November 18 to 23 in Bologna, at the new SuperTennis Arena.
Italy will host the Davis Cup Finals for the next three years. Until 2027, the famous “Salad Bowl” trophy will be awarded on Italian soil. This marks yet another success for Italian tennis, which is experiencing a historic moment—not only thanks to Jannik Sinner, but also due to the current presence of nine Italian players inside the world’s top 100.
Unlike fixed-location events such as the ATP Finals, the Davis Cup requires a different strategic approach from its global partners. As a traveling competition, sponsors must replicate the same brand experience regardless of the continent in which matches are played. The real challenge lies in guaranteeing a visually identical brand identity and a consistent message across varied cultural and logistical contexts.
Global Consistency: The Sponsors’ Challenge
Before reaching the final stage, the tournament featured two rounds of qualifying ties played across the world: from Taipei to Sydney, through Tokyo and Delray Beach (USA).
Maintaining consistency in both visuals and messaging is no easy task. The Davis Cup is built upon a graphic identity strictly controlled by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The ITF, the owner of the event, defines the requirements needed to ensure uniform exposure, in line with its strategic goal of offering strong partnership value at international, national, and local levels.
The court is the primary asset, and every element of its setup must appear identical in each venue. Global sponsors therefore operate within a very precise framework, ensuring that partner branding looks the same in every television shot. Companies are also encouraged to align their messaging with the universal values of sport, reflecting the defining qualities of tennis.
(Image: fitp.it)
The Freedom of Local Activations
By taking place in a single host city, the Davis Cup Final 8 allows for collaborations with local partners, an essential factor in engaging national and regional audiences.
The matches will be held in Bologna, inside the new SuperTennis Arena at BolognaFiere, a temporary venue capable of hosting over 10,000 spectators and created specifically for the historic tennis competition, now in its 113th edition. For the previous three years, Bologna had hosted the group stage at the Unipol Arena.
HERA Group, a leading multi-utility company in environmental, water, and energy services headquartered in Bologna, is playing on home turf and has renewed its commitment—initiated in 2022—to one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. It is joined by Italgas and Frecciarossa. Other brands, including Dunlop, Joma, Valmora, Villa Antinori, Technogym, and TicketOne, appear among the Official Suppliers, contributing to the competition through the quality of their products and services.
Supporting the Italian team is Lavoropiù, a company headquartered in Bologna that has chosen to continue supporting the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation. This partnership began in 2022 with the men’s Davis Cup team and later expanded to the women’s Billie Jean King Cup team. The agreement includes the presence of the company’s logo on team apparel and on the benches during the Azzurri’s matches.
Initiatives Across the City
Billboards and signage are spread throughout Bologna, supporting both the sponsors and the event itself. Off-court initiatives strengthen the event’s identity and amplify its media impact.
Rolex, a Davis Cup partner, has displayed large posters on the façade of Palazzo Re Enzo, right in the city center. This is a clear example of outdoor advertising placed in high-traffic areas, ensuring that the promotional message reaches a broad audience.
Bologna has prepared for the prestigious final stage with a series of initiatives that transform the competition from a sporting fixture into a city-wide phenomenon. Several side events, coordinated by the Municipality, aim to engage the public ahead of the on-court action: from exhibiting the trophy in the antechamber of the Sala Rossa in Palazzo d’Accursio to installing five green benches in different squares and placing five giant tennis balls in various locations across the city.
From November 15 to 23, Piazza Maggiore will host two mini-tennis courts, open to the public throughout the day. Finally, the Torre degli Asinelli and the façade of Palazzo Re Enzo overlooking Piazza Maggiore will be illuminated in green—the competition’s signature color—until the end of the tournament. On November 16, Palazzo Re Enzo hosted the opening ceremony, with teams and staff walking the Green Carpet in Piazza Nettuno.
New Opportunities for Suppliers
The temporary nature of the SuperTennis Arena creates specific opportunities for specialized suppliers. Setting up a dedicated structure within BolognaFiere requires a vast logistical network to meet the quality and safety standards demanded by the ITF. Managing services such as catering, security, and technology in a temporary environment opens new doors for suppliers, who can benefit from the visibility offered by an event with global reach.
ChainOn: Local and Global Partnerships for Investors
Events like the Davis Cup—and the partnership models associated with them—demonstrate how local and international sponsorships can coexist, offering companies simultaneous visibility and prestige.
On ChainOn, the digital marketplace for sponsorships, all of this becomes possible: depending on their marketing objectives, companies can access opportunities ranging from supporting local organizations to connecting with global sports brands. All of this can be done by analyzing proposed packages for free, with the ability to negotiate and finalize agreements digitally in a simple, quick, and secure way.
