Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Media & Entertainment Law Blogs -> Sports Biz

Media & Entertainment Law

: Sports Biz

Women's Tennis Shows Strength Through Recession

The WTA has been able to withstand the Great Recession in excellent shape, according to CEO Stacey Allaster. The tour lost only one title sponsor in 2009, and is adding three new tournaments for 2010. Contrast that to the LPGA, which had to cancel seven tournaments this year because of a lack of sponsors.

There are any number of reasons for the difference in results between the two tours. The WTA is a unified world tour - it is the women's professional tennis tour. The LPGA, on the other hand, is an American tour. While it may have a tournament or two in East Asia, there are women's tours in Europe and Asia that are conducted independently from teh LPGA and siphon off sponsors. Tennis may just be a more popular sport worldwide, and the global nature of the tour gives the WTA a much wider market within which to sell sponsorships. Of course, it just could be that, worldwide, tennis is just more popular than golf is right now.

Then, again, maybe it just comes down to , well, see photo.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on September 08, 2009 (boomark / email).