The WTA 2.0
What can we expect from the women's tour media reboot? Dhow Boat tennis? Magic carpets? Or more golf-cart interviews?
As the majority of women’s sports organizations, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has been plagued with most of the same problems — unequal pay, poor facilities (training or Acapulco), a dearth of fans, and a lot of player fault-finding of tournament directors — although sometimes the jewellery, the custom outfits and the Porsches won at big tournaments can overshadow them. That stated, not many fans can forget the images of Aryna Sabalenka compared to those of the Virgin Mary while wrapped in towels in the 2023 Finals in Cancun, Mexico; the paltry crowds and paid fans in Saudi Arabia; and the silencing of female players in Madrid.
So what’s the solution? Another reboot — formerly known as a rebranding. On Thursday — just four days before the renowned BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in Palm Springs, California — the organization announced its second incarnation in five years. Billed as Rally the World, the announcement came seemingly out of the blue, with just a teaser video featuring several members of the WTA Top Ten — and Emma Raducanu (WTA No. 55). The campaign itself focuses on certain characteristics certain players bring to the tour, such as Naomi Osaka’s “Honest Expression,” Qinwen Zheng’s breaking of boundaries, On Jabeur’s inspiration for a continent and Coco Gauff’s ignition of the future. Aryna Sabalenka is simply “World No. 1” — as if no further need for explanation.
“This is not a tennis court. There’s more between the lines than what meets the eye. A palpable energy takes over, transforming ordinary matches into extraordinary moments,” go the various reels. “This is my stage. To inspire others. To break boundaries. To push myself to the limit. To express myself honestly. To compete. To persevere. To represent my culture. To be powerful. To play for something bigger.”
In addition to new colors — a sea green overlaid on eggplant purple — the agency used gaming (think the power-up bar in video games) and streaming entertainment, as well as the players themselves in “hero” portraits, as aesthetic reference points. Another set of shades indicates the relative importance of the different tournaments: 125 (deep purple), 250 (light purple), 500 (silver), 1000 (gold). Anyone who also featured in Netflix’s Break Point — cancelled after two seasons — also has a little Netflix logo on her official page, in addition to Instagram, Twitter and/or Facebook links and logos.
“This bold new brand provides a distinct and powerful voice to tell our stories and showcase the WTA as the global sports and entertainment brand where women's tennis shines,” said WTA CEO Portia Archer in a statement,. The new brand comes at a time of strong momentum for the WTA and its impact around the world. The 2024 season saw on-site attendance at Hologic WTA Tour events increase by 15 percent, followers to WTA social channels jump by 25 percent, and the cumulative global audience grow by 10 percent to a record 1.1 billion on television and streaming platforms.
So was a top-down reimaging necessary — or just some better, funnier social media, showcasing its assets’ personalities: the players? Maybe a bit of both.?
Although trying to keep up appearances, the WTA couldn’t hide — with its late-game decision-making, venue choices and testing of players’ limits with late matches and quick tournament turn-arounds — that it had barely survived serious financial yips from its 16-month boycott of China due to concern over Chinese player Peng Shuai’s disappearance. The WTA thus started WTA Ventures in 2024 charged with overseeing its commercial interests, including sponsorships, broadcast rights, and data rights, and then sold 20 percent stake of WTA ventures to private equity for $150 million — a lowball, quick cash infusion. After that, the WTA needed to fill seats, but also the tennis association wanted to change its presentation to the outside world. The previous WTA For The Game campaign that came out in 2020, with its serving silhouette of a female tennis player and reworking of the letters W, T and A with a tennis ball marking the A’s crossbar, wasn’t getting the job done any longer. And besides, Ashleigh Barty, a key element of that campaign, had retired.
The WTA also wanted to get away from any kind of “charity, or purpose-led” perception and rather be seen as an entertainment sport. The London-based brand agency Nomad Studio, which had previously worked with sports clients like Tottenham Hotspur and Major League Baseball, got the job. The company enlisted Billie Jean King, the WTA’s founder and doyenne extraordinaire, to see about preserving any of the old. “Just blow it all up and start over,” read the King quote on a slide deck from Nomad, according to Defector.
“Our rebrand focuses on players as the heart of the WTA, and we couldn't be more excited to continue to shine a light on their athletic prowess and, beyond that, what's important to each of them,” said Marina Storti, CEO of WTA Ventures. “The ‘Rally the World’ narrative creates the opportunity for each player to personalize what it means to them.”
“Just blow it all up and start over,” read the (Billie Jean) King quote on a slide deck from Nomad.
But with social media subsuming written products, television and even websites, fans and pundits alike question whether the WTA will be as successful as showing player personalities beyond the female tropes of motherhood (Elina Svitolina, Victoria Azarenka), mean-spirited rivalry (Qinweng Zheng), design and shopping (Jelena Ostapenko), coach-boyfriends (Elena Rybakina), books and cats (Iga) and coyness — many of the women who keep to themselves on tour. A few have transcended these, such as Daria Kasatkina’s travel What the Vlog with her girlfriend, Natalia Zabiiako, Jessica Pegula’s no-nonsense subway rides, and Ons Jabeur’s trickser personality. The WTA has used Chapter X, Nomad Studio and Brothers and Sisters for its social media campaigns, which are occasionally inventive, but often run-of-the-mill, like the “Confessional (Golf) Cart” segments.
Meanwhile, the ATP uses M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment for its YouTube, Instagram and other posts, which ask the guys to do such promotional tricks, such as play tennis on camels and Dhow boats in the Arabian desert, roll die and hit according to the results, as Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas, or pose as tournament employees during the 2024 Indian Wells tournament (which, to their credit, they did with Maria Sakkari and Ons Jabuer). Over the past 12 months, ATP players have generated more than 3.8 billion impressions on their social media channels, according to the association. During that same period, male players added more than 15 million new fans to their social media accounts, following the establishment of a dedicated ATP Athlete Marketing department in 2023, created to offer tailored digital content services to players. In the meantime, the WTA claimed victory with just over a quarter of the men’s audience.
Moreover, fans have pointed out the disparity in marketing budgets between WTA and ATP, with the latter spending $150 million compared to the WTA's $50 million. The WTA has been in discussions with its male counterpart, the ATP Tour, about a commercial merger for some time, and more than ever, the time seems now, according to some pundits. “I get a little bit frustrated here because I feel some tournaments in Europe can fancy men more than women,” Ons Jabeur told The Athletic in summer 2024.
“I see that especially on social media, more posts about the men, more this more that and for me it’s really frustrating because we play really well. And it’s such, you know, an amazing sport for women. So I wish we can be more seen,” she added.
Will Ons’ second desert dream pan out for her? Either the association or peyote could prove the most useful.
All Things Racquet
Rally, conceived of and designed by two long-time players is both a booking interface on Kickstarter and an AI-powered concierge that:
1. Allows players to find, book and pay for both public and private pickle, Padel and tennis courts around the world with the tap of a phone
2. Gives users choice among surfaces, dates, locations and times to play their favorite racquet sports
3. Permits private clubs to sell their unused court time on the main app and gives them a bespoke white-label booking app for their members
4. Matches players with coaches to help them increase their business at public/private courts, and
5. Provides easy access to peer-to-peer hitting, as well as sessions with professional “sparring partners,” stringing, equipment purchasing and all things tennis, padel and pickleball.
Players can also check out plans for the app on the Rally website — with free access to some of the best tips and tricks for your game.