Only Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova were younger than Caroline Wozniacki when they won the Orange Bowl, considered the world championship for junior tennis players.
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Caroline Wozniacki, 15, is attracting
attention for shoe and apparel deals. |
SFX Tennis confirmed last week that it had signed Wozniacki, a pretty, blonde 15-year-old from Denmark, who is already attracting interest from shoe and apparel companies, said John Tobias, a vice president of SFX who will serve as her primary agent. “She has a little bit of an accent, but she speaks perfect English,” Tobias said.
“I think she’s got top 20 to 15 potential, and if she does reach that level, she will be exceptionally marketable, getting not just tools-of-the-trade deals, but off-the-court deals as well.”
Wozniacki, the No. 2-ranked junior in the world, made a splash at her pro debut in February, making it to the quarterfinals of the Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis.
Wozniacki is under contract to Nike for shoes and apparel and Babolat for rackets, but the Nike deal expires at the end of this year, Tobias said.
The tennis division at SFX Sports is one of three divisions that are in discussions with parent company Clear Channel Communications about buying back their businesses. Despite that, SFX Tennis won a recruiting battle for Wozniacki against agencies including IMG and Octagon, Tobias said.
“Our clients will go wherever we go,” Tobias said. “Our name might change, but the way we work and the core group of agents, we are not changing.”
