It’s that time of year where, for two weeks in late August
\nand early September, tens of thousands of people descend upon
\nFlushing Meadows in Queens, New York for the U.S. Open tennis
\ntournament. The biggest stars in the world of tennis are there,
\nfrom veteran players to up-and-comers hoping for an upset win. Fans
\npack the grounds, including Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest
\ntennis-specific stadium in the world, named after the legendary
\ntennis star who passed away in 1993.<\/p>\n
Anyone who goes into Arthur Ashe Stadium or the other courts at
\nthe tournament, or who watches on TV, will likely see the
\ntournament logo: the words “US Open” with what appears to
\nbe a speeding yellow tennis ball above it. Keen observers may even
\nnote the \u00ae symbol in the logo. It will not surprise most folks
\nto learn that the United States Tennis Association (USTA) owns
\ntrademark registrations for that mark (such as U.S. Registration
\nNos. 5,934,944 and 5,929,884), as well as the UNITED STATES OPEN
\nTENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS word mark (U.S. Registration No. 1,140,105).
\nThe USTA even has a registration and a pending application for
\nHONEY DEUCE, the name of the signature beverage of the tournament
\n(U.S. Registration No. 7,782,775 for alcoholic beverages; U.S.
\nSerial No. 99,266,182 for clothing).<\/p>\n
The phrase “US Open” is used by a wide variety of
\nsporting events, however, so there a number of other trademark
\nregistrations for the phrase, unrelated to the tennis tournament or
\nthe USTA. Sports ranging from golf (U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, U.S.
\nRegistration No. 1,151,944) to bowling (U.S. OPEN, U.S.
\nRegistration No. 6,777,297) to Muay Thai (US OPEN, U.S.
\nRegistration No. 7,077,363) use the phrase or variations thereon.
\nIt is a crowded field, but the tennis tournament has carved out a
\nunique identity among users of the phrase.<\/p>\n
That made me wonder: have any top tennis players obtained U.S.
\ntrademark registrations relating to their names or brands? I was
\nsurprised to find that of the top five ranked women’s players,
\nonly one had registered trademarks that I could definitively
\ndetermine were owned by the player: the Polish player Iga Swiatek.
\nShe has registered or applied to register, through a foundation,
\n1GA (U.S. Registration No. 7,691,163); JAZDA (Polish for
\n“let’s go”) (U.S. Registration No. 7,873,751); IGA
\nSWIATEK (U.S. Serial No. 79,374,697); and TEAM SWIATEK (U.S. Serial
\nNo. 79,374,695).<\/p>\n
On the men’s side, there are similarly few trademarks among
\nthe top five. Italian Jannik Sinner appears to have registered a
\nlogo (U.S. Registration No. 7,089,046) and JANNIK SINNER (U.S.
\nRegistration No. 7,088,922). Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has registered
\nCARLOS ALCARAZ (U.S. Registration No. 7,646,319). That appears to
\nbe it for the top five players.<\/p>\n
With name, image, and likeness (or NIL) rights exploding in
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
\ncollege sports, and athletes and other celebrities increasingly
\nacting like entrepreneurs, it may not be long before tennis players
\nsee the value of filing an application as essential as stringing a
\nracquet. As we’ve described in prior posts, athletes like Angel Reese, Caitlin
\nClark, Breanna Stewart, and Flau’jae Johnson<\/a>, and
\ncelebrities like Taylor Swift<\/a>, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar,
\nand SZA<\/a>, have been building their trademark portfolios to
\nprotect their personal brands. In today’s sports economy,
\nfailing to register a mark might be the real unforced error. Will
\nwe see start to see more tennis players serving up trademark
\napplications? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n
\nguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
\nabout your specific circumstances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s that time of year where, for two weeks in late August
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