In N.Y., Filip Bondy writes tennis player Eugenie Bouchard "must be very, very careful" during the U.S. Open because her handlers "are dressing her in skin-tight tennis dresses that appear exceedingly uncomfortable in the baking sun of Flushing Meadows." Bouchard "is already the attractive face of women’s athletics in Canada," so she "really ought to have a sit-down" with Maria Sharapova about balancing commercial and media opportunities with her tennis (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/27).
MY MARIA: ABC's Rebecca Jarvis last night examined the U.S. Open and noted the event is where "glitz and glam meet serves and sweat." She noted Sharapova due to her "supermodel looks and killer strokes ... has been No. 1 on Forbes' list of top-paid female athletes for 10 years in a row." Her on-court success has "catapulted her into a fashion icon and businesswoman," and she "helped sketch her own Nike dress for the Open." Sharapova said, "I've always enjoyed seeing something come alive from nothing, whether it's an idea or an object" ("Nightline," ABC, 8/26).
SERVICE POINT: ADWEEK's Lauren Johnson noted the USTA "is getting high tech in order to move merchandise and memorabilia for this year's U.S. Open." The organization has created a section "within the Open’s website that pulls in user-generated content tagged with tournament-themed hashtags and keywords from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine." A system "built into the site detects clothing and other products in a picture and then matches it up with merchandise." A "Shop now" button "next to each photo links to the USTA’s e-commerce site, where consumers can buy the product" (ADWEEK.com, 8/26).
