Political Tensions Between U.S., China Stall WTA Sponsorship Deal

Negotiations with a Chinese company for a WTA Tour lead sponsorship deal "have been suspended," in part due to the "political strife over trade barriers between the U.S. and China," according to Daniel Kaplan of SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL. WTA President Micky Lawler led the negotiations "for more than a year" and had "expected to announce the deal with the as-yet-unknown partner in late December." Sources said that the nearly-complete talks between the two sides "turned quickly" the day after a top Chinese exec with Huawei was "arrested Dec. 1 in Canada at the U.S.’s request for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions against Iran." The WTA has been "looking for a top sponsor" since '12, and the tour "currently has five" in total, while the ATP has 11 (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/28 issue).