U.S. Open tennis matches "start next week, but the action was going full tilt this week for elite players" in the tournament and the "brands they represent," according to Ember & Rothenberg of the N.Y. TIMES. Held in the nation’s "media capital and attracting an upscale audience, the Open has always been a coveted event for companies promoting their products, and the week leading into the tournament has become a marketing extravaganza, each brand seemingly trying to outdo the others." Nike "organized street tennis for Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer and others in the meatpacking district," while Tommy Hilfiger "opted for strip tennis with Rafael Nadal in Bryant Park." Delta Air Lines "held a celebrity karaoke night with Serena Williams near Times Square," and American Express "staged what it called a 'hydro-interactive tennis experience'" featuring Sharapova along the Hudson River. As a result, the week has "become a balancing act for players, who find themselves trotted around and put on display as they are trying to prepare for the year’s last major tournament." Eschewing Queens, where the actual tournament is played, marketers "spread out across Manhattan, where even glamorous locations had to get a makeover." Nike on Monday "closed down a street by the Standard Hotel to set up a court" where Federer and others "batted balls back and forth." But perhaps no athlete was "balancing more this week" than Williams, who is vying for tennis' first calendar-year Grand Slam since '88. She will "attend a cocktail event with her sister Venus on Friday at the St. Regis Hotel" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/28).
SLAM ATTIRE: In N.Y., Vanessa Friedman noted Williams will be wearing the Serena Greatness collection, which she "designed in collaboration with Nike," at the Open, and the brand began selling it Thursday. Unlike most tournament-related collections, it is "not simply an on-court look, but rather two dresses (one for day play, one for evening games), three pairs of shoes and a bomber-style jacket." It is both the "biggest such collection that Nike has created with Ms. Williams in their more than a decade of working together and the biggest such line Nike has created with one of its tennis stars." The evening dress is a "black number with a cutout back and a stripe of peach-toned snakeskin down the front; the day version is a similar style, in lighter colors." The bomber, which "comes in a kind of shiny, light taffetalike fabric, is white piped in black, and has Ms. Williams’s favorite 'power of affirmation' reproduced in her handwriting on the lining." The sneakers are all a "mix of black and white marbleized and leopard prints." Williams was "very happy with the sneakers." She said, "These are the first tennis shoes this cool, and I do say so." Friedman noted N.Y. Fashion Week begins a week after the Open ends, and Williams will "swap one game for another." She is "scheduled to show the Serena Williams Signature Statement collection on Sept. 15" (NYTIMES.com, 8/27).
MERIT SYSTEM? BLOOMBERG NEWS' Danielle Rossingh wrote Williams is "on the cusp of making sports history, yet she's still not No. 1 with marketers." Williams "isn't the highest earner in the women's game," as that title belongs to Sharapova. WTA Chair & CEO Stacey Allaster said, "This Grand Slam year will be a game changer for Serena and I do hope corporate America steps up. I think we’re going to see a significant increase." Williams "has deals with companies including Nike and Gatorade." In the past year, she has "added JP Morgan Chase and Swiss luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet, while PepsiCo Inc. is using her to help relaunch the Pepsi Challenge." WME-IMG Senior VP Jill Smoller, Williams' long-time agent, said, "We’re seeing interest from a much broader range of brands. Some are not necessarily tennis focused, and some aren’t even necessarily sports focused. They’ve gotten on the ride of her potential history-making run here" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 8/27).
GIRL POWER: ESPN.com's Darren Rovell reported the U.S. Open women's singles final "sold out before the men's single final" for what is believed to be "the first time" in tournament history. USTA Dir of Communications Chris Widmaier said that he is "confident that this is the first time the ticket demand was greater for a women's final." Rovell noted the women's final in some years has "not even sold out." TiqIQ data showed that the average listed price on the resale market for the women's final "is now $859, versus a men's final average resale ticket price of $897" (ESPN.com, 8/27).
