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The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is celebrating a commercial milestone after naming Mercedes-Benz as its new premier partner, which has usurped title sponsor as the top-tier designation on the tour.
The long-term partnership will officially begin in January and has been described as the most significant in the history of the WTA, which has been undergoing a commercial transformation in recent years since the formation of the WTA Ventures business arm.
Speaking to SportsPro, Marina Storti, the chief executive of WTA Ventures, which agreed the deal with the German luxury carmaker, confirms that this is the organisation’s largest sponsorship since being formed in 1973.
According to the BBC, Mercedes will pay US$50 million annually for up to ten years, meaning the agreement could be worth US$500 million in total. That makes it significantly more lucrative than the tour’s previous title sponsor deal with medical device and diagnostics company Hologic, whose contract was worth US$18 million to US$20 million per year, according to the Hard Court newsletter.
Citing the confidentiality of the agreement, Storti declines to comment on the precise financial terms of the deal, but says it puts WTA Ventures “firmly on track” to achieve its target of trebling the tour’s revenue by 2029.
“We feel it’s a milestone moment for the WTA to have this incredible commitment that they (Mercedes) are making to the sport, but also to be able to partner with a brand that is one of the most admired brands in the world,” Storti says. “It’s really testament to the growth of women’s tennis as a commercial property, and also the work that we have done on transforming the WTA brand.”
Why did the WTA move away from a title sponsorship model?
WTA Ventures introduced the new premier partner package in December last year before taking the asset to market in partnership with the Wasserman agency in April – though IMG also played a role in brokering the deal with Mercedes.
While Mercedes’ deal does not include naming rights or the same title sponsor designation as Hologic, it does ensure that the circuit will be marketed as the ‘WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz’ from the beginning of next year.
Storti points out that the sponsorship package also includes many of the same assets that were afforded to Hologic, including branding on the net and integration into prominent broadcast and digital graphics.
The WTA has had other title sponsors in the past, including Sony Ericsson, Sanex and Virginia Slims. But Storti says there were several reasons that the WTA decided to transition away from that model, including a desire to make the most of its recent rebrand.
“We wanted to have flexibility when we came into the market with a premier partner, and having naming rights sometimes makes it harder to have that full flexibility in terms of the type of brands that you can engage with,” she explains. “Also, we put a lot of investment into the WTA brand, and we felt that it was important to keep the WTA Tour brand as clean as possible.”
Mercedes will replace Hologic’s branding on the net at every WTA tournament, making it the most prominent sponsor on tour (Getty Images)
What does this mean for other automobile partnerships on the WTA Tour?
Interestingly, Mercedes will also become the exclusive automobile partner of the WTA, occupying a category that has historically been highly active in tennis, with car companies keen to gain access to the sport’s traditionally affluent fanbase.
Indeed, several tournaments on the WTA Tour schedule have their own automobile partners, including the Stuttgart Open, which takes place in Mercedes’ home city and is title sponsored by Porsche. Elsewhere, Lexus puts its name to the Eastbourne Open, while 1000 level events like Indian Wells and the Miami Open have automotive sponsors of their own.
When asked whether the new partnership with Mercedes will impact those deals, Storti suggests that some of those deals will be allowed to remain in place for now.
“The way we built this partnership is very sensitive and respectful to the existing deals that already exist amongst our tournaments,” she says. “We’re not getting into specifics, all of these partnerships are confidential, but we’ve built this to be respectful and honour the existing agreements.
“The first year will see the majority of tournaments embracing the Mercedes-Benz branding on the net. And then we will see a ramp up over time. But the partnership has been built in a way that is very collaborative and respectful of those existing relationships.”
While Storti would not be drawn on specifics, it is understood that WTA tournaments will be able to see out their existing automobile partnerships before Mercedes assumes the category across every event once they expire. The company’s logo will be present at 30 competitions on the 2026 schedule, with more to be added from 2027.
The Hard Court newsletter had suggested that the WTA would buy out automobile partnerships attached to some 250 and 500 events, with larger tournaments unlikely to be affected.
Why did Mercedes choose to sponsor the WTA?
Storti says the WTA had conversations with “many brands across many categories” before finalising its deal with Mercedes. It is unclear if US-based Hologic was one of those interested in the premier partner package, but Storti says that the company will remain “a very valued partner of the WTA” and continue to support the tour through health initiatives.
As a brand focused on women’s health, there was strong alignment between Hologic and an organisation whose history is rooted in driving progress for women in tennis. But in Mercedes, one of the world’s most recognised car brands, the WTA feels it has secured a partner that matches the premium nature and global reach of the tour, which next year will stage more than 50 events in 26 countries.
Storti also highlights the fact that the company will be providing an exclusive fleet of vehicles at the majority of WTA tournaments, which she says is a service “very valued by our players”.
This isn’t the first deal in tennis for Mercedes, which this week unveiled a new partnership with Coco Gauff and previously sponsored the US Open and men’s ATP Finals. It also has major deals in golf, including with The Masters and The Open majors.
From Storti’s perspective, there were several factors that drew the company to the WTA.
“The WTA’s global footprint has a very good synergy with the Mercedes-Benz business, and they have a global footprint,” she adds. “A lot of their core markets are big, big tennis markets. They were attracted by this [premier partner] asset, which is one of the most premium and largest assets available in tennis.
“They were also motivated by the women’s sports angle and the mission that the WTA has been on to drive empowerment and champion female athletes. So there are many areas of synergy that brought us together.”
Is there room for further growth?
WTA Ventures has a previously stated target of trebling the tour’s income by 2029 and reported in 2024 that it had increased revenue by 24 per cent since being formed in 2023.
Sponsorship has been “a big part” of that, according to Storti, who believes that the partnership with Mercedes puts the WTA “firmly on track” to achieving its revenue goals.
This year has also seen Gillette Venus join a global partner tier also including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Morgan Stanley, Rolex and Corpay, while Wilson, Usana and Tennis Warehouse are among the WTA’s official suppliers. Verizon is a regional partner of the tour in the US.
Even with the addition of Mercedes, Storti says there is more room for the portfolio to grow.
“There’s huge potential,” she adds. “We have multiple conversations that are live and progressing well. There are many categories still available for us to partner with. We have such an incredible roster of very premium brands, and there’s still room for more partnerships. We expect quite a lot of growth in this area over the coming years.”
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