The face of ASICS

 

Originally published on 09/06/17 00:00

Konta is the face of the Japanese brand after a sensational two seasons, climbing from outside the world's top 150 in 2015 to winning her first WTA title in Stanford last July and establishing herself as a Top 10 player after two Premier-level titles this season.

Highlights include a run to the semi-finals at the 2016 Australian Open, where she became the first British woman to reach the last four at a Grand Slam since 1983 and winning the biggest title of her career in Miami in March.

The British No.1, who celebrated her 26th birthday last month, is enjoying all the new benefits of her new status, such as a place in the seeds’ locker room at Grand Slams and invitations to various social events, including a recent trip to Buckingham Palace.

However, some commitments are decidedly less glamourous. At the end of last season, Konta travelled straight to Paris from China to shoot the adverts for the ASICS 2017 Collection.

“It was freezing cold,” she said. “These are summer outfits, not made for 2 degree weather so I would be shooting and filming and then I’d be wrapped in blankets, then they’d unwrap me, send me back and then I’d be shooting; that was pretty much how two days went.”

“But it was great fun,” she added. “We worked with really great people, and it was the first time I got to see the 2017 collection.”

 

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