On the latest "SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead," WTA President Micky Lawler sits down with SBJ’s Bret McCormick to discuss the tour’s rebrand launched this week, including the first new logo in 10 years and a change in tournament-category terminology that aligns the WTA with its counterpart, the ATP.
On rebranding the tour and launching a new logo:
Lawler: I was so nervous because you look at all the great feedback and you take that in and you’re very, very happy, and then there’s one negative comment, and that is the one you spend the next three hours thinking about. “What did I miss?” But in this case, we really have had only positive feedback. ... The players have loved it; the tournaments have loved it; and, most importantly, the fans have had nothing but good comments.
On having new terminology for tournament categories to align more with the ATP:
Lawler: Part of the (rebrand) was we have to visually say women’s tennis, and then we also have to think only about the fan. We’re going to have a hundred different opinions within the sport, and our North Star is the fan. So, as part of that North Star, let’s also take care of doing away with the complications of the nomenclature and the differentiation between our tournament levels.
On whether there is a “to-do list” of tasks to bring the WTA and ATP even more aligned:
Lawler: There’s an endless list, but we are looking and working on this one step at a time. So, one fruit may be low; one fruit may not be ripe yet, but we are going through the forest to see what more we can do together. As you know, during COVID, we did launch a series on social media called Tennis United, and we did that together, and it was very much, I think, appreciated by the fans, and we got great feedback on that too. It’s very clear that the consumption of tennis is at its best when it’s combined.
