The WTA yesterday announced that BNP Paribas and Turkey-based bank Turk Ekonomi Bankasy will become joint title sponsors of the WTA Championships, which will be held in Istanbul from '11-13. Per the three-year deal, TEB-BNP Paribas becomes the event's official bank and will receive global exposure through on-court branding, broadcast and digital activation. The financial institutions also will get marketing opportunities on all WTA platforms, including digital and social media. TEB also will activate domestically in Turkey. This marks the fifth major deal signed by the WTA in the past 12 months (WTA).
CHECK PLUS: CNBC.com's Darren Rovell reported by moving top-ranked men's player Rafael Nadal "out of his trademark cut-off muscle T's and capri shorts and putting him into more conservative tennis attire," Nike managed to "do a much more robust business and tennis specialty retailers obviously appreciated that." N.Y.-based Mason's Tennis Mart's Mark Mason said, "We had some kids buying the capris, but most older guys aren't going to show up sleeveless to the country club. Nike understood that it was a limited market and they could only sell so much of it." Houston-based retailer Tennis Express Managing Partner Brad Blume: "The kids didn't like the capris. They thought that they were too restrictive" (CNBC.com, 6/6).
CHOMPING AT THE BIT: Former U.S. Open champ Andy Roddick revealed that he will team up with longtime sponsor Lacoste to "create his own line of sportswear, including polos, shorts, track pants and jackets." Prices will range from $85 for a pair of shorts to $185 for a track jacket. Roddick will "wear the line exclusively when he hits the court" (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 6/2).
