Zheng Qinwen won the China Open women’s singles title in Beijing, defeating Mirra Andreeva with a final service ace on October 11 to become the first Chinese player to capture the tournament. The victory raised her world ranking to 23rd, according to China Daily, and triggered more than 10 sponsor brand announcements that same night.
Zheng secured the milestone trophy at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, closing out a straight-sets victory that drew immediate attention from the endorsement market. Within hours of the final point, more than 10 corporate partners published celebratory digital imagery across social channels. Among them was Lancôme, which upgraded Zheng from skincare ambassador to official spokesperson in May.
Industry trackers note that no commercial partners dropped Zheng despite multiple first-round exits earlier in the season. According to Jing Daily, Chinese beauty brands are increasingly shifting budgets away from actors and entertainment celebrities toward competitive athletes. Companies are using athletic achievements and the resulting public trust to market personal care products as products of discipline rather than pure glamour.
Qingyan, an industry trade publication, recorded at least 64 partnerships between beauty brands and sports figures across China over the past three years. Skincare led the categories with 33 deals, followed by 15 in haircare and 6 in makeup. Liang Chen, senior brand manager at ecommerce accelerator Pattern, said the shift reflects a broader push away from standard celebrity endorsements toward genuine consumer trust.
“Broad exposure is becoming an easy commodity in the market, but building trust is a much harder challenge,” Chen told Jing Daily.
Athletes offer a distinct narrative of structured training, physical failure, and high-pressure recovery that aligns naturally with skincare marketing. Adam Knight, co-founder of Chinese ecommerce consultancy Yaso, said athletes do not replace entertainers in corporate portfolios but rather expand brand ambassador rosters through earned competitive merit.
“Athletes represent values that are deeply valued in China, such as discipline, hard work, focus, patriotism, and resilience,” Elisa Harca, co-founder and CEO of marketing agency Red Ant Asia, told Jing Daily. When brands tie their products to those attributes, elite athletic performance reinforces consumer perceptions of product efficacy.
Perfumes, by contrast, rely heavily on emotion, imagination, and personal identity, recording far fewer sports collaborations. Skincare products dominate the sector because their functional claims match the rigorous physical environments athletes endure daily.
Commercial returns for brands backing sports stars often manifest quickly in sales data. Following the Paris Olympic Games, table tennis player Sun Yingsha signed advertising agreements with eight beauty and care labels, including Olay, Little Dream Garden, La Roche-Posay, and Colgate. Little Dream Garden reported that a haircare line featuring Sun crossed 30 million yuan (about $4.5 million USD) in total transactions within one hour of launch.
Uniskin reported a 27 percent increase in male customers aged 25 to 35 after signing table tennis player Wang Chuqin. Knight cautioned, however, that launch-day sales spikes alone do not confirm long-term partnership success. He suggested that brands monitor data 90 or 180 days out to evaluate repeat purchase rates and measure whether customer acquisition expands beyond dedicated fan communities.
As endorsement fees for top sports stars rival or exceed those of A-list actors, the commercial calculus grows more complex. Knight said that the primary challenge for marketers is ensuring consumers remember the brand rather than just the athlete.
Outdoor sports expansion in China creates new categories for brand integration. Knight’s data projects that marathon events will draw approximately 6.4 million participants in 2025, with each runner spending upwards of 14,000 yuan ($2,100 USD) annually on gear and related activities. Men make up the vast majority of participants, particularly within the 40-year-old demographic.
SK-II built advertising campaigns around skier Eileen Gu, focusing on skin exposure to low temperatures, strong winds, and intense UV radiation during competition. Knight said that these partnerships succeed when an athlete’s exact competition environment mirrors the specific skin conditions consumers face.
On October 11, Zheng advanced her ranking to 23rd following the China Open.
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