Sony Ericsson Extends WTA Tour Partnership

Japanese-Swedish mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson announced today the extension of its partnership with the WTA Tour for two more years. According to the handset vendor, the extension will enable it to become the lead global sponsor for the Tour through to the end of 2012. Through the partnership between the two, women’s tennis has been brought to new audiences, through putting together sport with technology, or fashion and music.

“Sony Ericsson has been an incredible partner for the last five years and this extension is both a real sign of strength and stability, and a testament to the investment value delivered by our players and tournaments,” said Stacey Allaster, chairman and CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. “We are very pleased that Sony Ericsson will remain our partner and we look forward to continuing to deliver to fans and taking women’s tennis and Sony Ericsson to new heights through our joint vision for the future of the sport.”

The extension of the agreement will make Sony Ericsson the lead global sponsor for the Tour, while also offering it the possibility to retain the prime net signage at the Tour’s 53 tournaments in 33 countries, along with television and digital media rights. Moreover, Sony Ericsson also becomes “the Tour’s lead global sponsor in lieu of title sponsor,” something that will result in the reversion of the Tour's name to WTA Tour during 2010.

Aldo Liguori, corporate VP and head of Global Communications & PR, Sony Ericsson said, “Our relationship with the WTA Tour over the past five years has been tremendously successful giving us significant international brand exposure and awareness. We are delighted to be extending this relationship for a further two years as we take the company into a new stage of growth.”

Sony Ericsson has partnered with the Tour in 2005, something that offered it the possibility to take the sport beyond the court. The company has been focused on attracting more people towards sport, through innovations like “Night Tennis,” which puts together music, dance and women’s tennis, as well as with compelling social media content, the handset vendor states. At the same time, the company notes that it will continue to focus on attracting people towards women’s tennis.