"This is a great day for women’s tennis," said Bart McGuire, Sanex WTA Tour’s Chief Executive Officer. "This new agreement reflects the strength of women’s tennis. In Nasdaq terms, women’s tennis is the market leader in a growing market segment-women’s sports. In fact, women’s tennis is in the early stages of a long-term surge in competitiveness, popularity, television exposure, and print media coverage."
"This sponsorship agreement is a great fit for these two organizations. Women’s tennis is growing with an energy that matches Nasdaq’s and we’re very excited about taking an active role in sponsoring the Sanex WTA Tour," said Wick Simmons, Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq. "Tour players are highly competitive, sometimes combative, and always striving--just like the companies on our market. We both used to be considered upstarts and now have mounted irresistible challenges to the old order."
"This announcement comes at a great time," said McGuire. "Two weeks ago we began a series of tournaments in the United States in which our growing list of superstar athletes will be in the U.S. spotlight. World number one Martina Hingis, Venus and Serena Williams, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport, who captured last week’s title in Scottsdale, will be challenged by Jennifer Capriati, fresh off her Australian Open title, and Amelie Mauresmo who has scored two straight titles at key events in France last month. Add to this our portfolio of rising stars, including Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin, Jelena Dokic, and 2000 U.S. Open semifinalist Elena Dementieva, and the market forecast for women’s tennis is very bullish."
The agreement is a joint effort between the Sanex WTA Tour and their marketing agency-The GEM Group, an Atlanta-based global experiential marketing communications firm. The GEM Group is the agency of record for brand development and sponsorship sales for the Sanex WTA Tour.
The Sanex WTA Tour is the world’s premier professional sport for women with more than 1,000 players, representing 76 nations. In 2001, they will compete for more than $50 million in prize money at 65 events in 33 countries worldwide. The Tour’s season concludes with the Tour Championships of the Sanex WTA Tour at the Olympia Halle in Munich Germany October 30-November 4, 2001.
Sanex WTA Tour events are viewed across the globe, reaching hundreds of millions of households, and are immensely popular spectator events, attracting more than four million in 2000. Further information on the Tour can be found on the Internet at www.sanexwta.com.
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