Gabriela Sabatini, who retired from tennis last year,
recently finished a worldwide promo tour for products
bearing her name. Sabatini's fourth perfume, Bolero, was
released in Western Europe earlier this month, with South
American and Eastern European launches set for September.
She also launched a "Home Collection" of linens, bath robes
and beach towels called Activity and Estrada by Gabriela
Sabatini. In addition, Sabatini has a sunglasses line
bearing the name Notorio Occhiali, produced by Boston-based
Marine Optical. Finally, Sabatini expanded her deal with
Fila to include fitness apparel as well as tenniswear,
concentrating on South America (Corel WTA Tour).
LOW VISIBILITY: In his "Roving Eye" column, TENNIS
WEEK's Richard Evans looks at the ATP Tour's worldwide
exposure and reports that the ATP's licensing deal with Sony
Signatures "has finally born fruit," as Sony has signed a
racquet deal with Spalding. Evans: "I really would like to
get excited about this but, to my mind, it just symbolizes
... why the ATP tour is not functioning. ... [T]he ATP Tour
is invisible in the marketplace. And that is all that
matters." Evans points out that NBA, F1 and soccer apparel
are widely available throughout Europe, but he asks, "But
ATP Tour shirts? ... Forget it. Why? Because the people
who run this game forbid it" (TENNIS WEEK, 8/1 issue).
