Dubai: It’s been exactly 40 years since the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) came into being and it couldn’t have been in better hands than it is right now. Rated by Forbes as one of the most powerful women executives in sport, it’s easy to see how WTA Chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster has made women’s tennis one of the most viewed and sought after sports in the world. And in an exclusive interview to XPRESS ahead of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the former WTA President talks about the WTA’s journey and its close association with the Dubai event. Excerpts….
Q. The WTA is celebrating 40 years this year. Has getting equal prize money in Slams been the biggest challenge during this period?
A. Achieving equal prize money at all the Grand Slams in 2007 was the culmination of many years of work begun by Billie Jean King and continued through the decades by our players and so many others. Being part of that achievement is definitely one of my proudest moments professionally. It was a watershed moment for the sport, and showed that tennis, including the Grand Slams, is aligned with our modern, progressive society when it comes to the principle of equality. It’s also worth noting that the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships was the first event in the Middle East to come on-board with equal prize money. While equal prize money sends a powerful message, it’s part of a bigger picture. For the past 40 years, the WTA has been vested in equality of opportunity as well. This certainly presented plenty of challenges when women’s professional tennis was just taking off in the 1970s, and it’s something for us to remain mindful of today.
Q. You took over as CEO and Chairman three-and-half years ago. How has women’s tennis progressed during this time?
A. Women’s tennis has never been stronger, both on and off the court. On the court, we have an incredibly exciting group of established stars and rivalries, along with really exciting new talent emerging. Maria, Serena and Vika are global icons with huge fan followings. And young players like Sloane Stephens and Laura Robson are starting to knock on the door.
The strength of the women’s tennis product is reflected in our success off the court. We are proud that our prize money has broken the $100 million mark, across the WTA’s 54 events and the four Grand Slams. For that, we thank all our partners, longstanding ones like Dubai Duty Free and our new friends such as Xerox, with whom we’ve just signed a multi-year, multi-million global deal.
Our crown jewel WTA Championships moved to Istanbul, Turkey and sponsored by TEB BNP Paribas, has been an enormous success setting attendance, TV and digital milestones. For the up-and-comers, we have developed the WTA 125K Series – a new stream of events that will provide emerging markets currently unable to host a Premier or International event to showcase a women’s tennis product. And, reflecting the world we live in, our digital focus has intensified.
Our website, www.wtatennis.com was recently relaunched. Including the social media (Facebook, Twitter) pages of the WTA and our players, women’s professional tennis has grown to become an online community of more than 56mill fans. And under our partnership with Perform we have expanded beyond traditional broadcast and digital platforms so that this year, 400 matches and some 16,000 hours will be produced from 22 Premier events. Our reach is expanding every day, online, on television and in the real world.
Q. With Dubai Duty Free being a key partner of WTA, do you think anything more can be done to make the Dubai tournament better than it already is?
A. That’s a tough question. The Dubai tournament is world class and up there with the very best. It was the first event in the Middle East to offer equal prize money. It has twice been voted Premier Tournament of the Year by our players, which is an accolade that has been shared by only a handful of tournaments in the past decade or so. That comes down to a range of factors. Clearly, Dubai is an incredible city to visit. This year, the players will enjoy the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel for the first time, a stunning new hotel right by the stadium. As an organization, Colm McLoughlin and his team are second to none and that is reflected in their attention to detail and the very warm welcome extended to all. Dubai Duty Free has proven to be one of our most loyal and innovative sponsors. They have been key partners in promoting women’s tennis thru the WTA’s Video on Demand program, the Full of Surprises Travel Show, year-end No. 1 awards, and our Player Ambassador Program, which currently involves Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic.
Once again this year DDF will sponsor the WTA’s Pre-Wimbledon Party, which is one of the hottest tickets on the London social calendar. The impact of DDF’s support extends far beyond Dubai itself, and if there is a way to enrich the tournament and women’s tennis in general, I am confident they will identify it.
Q. For a Premier tournament, do you believe this year’s field in Dubai is one of the strongest ever assembled?
A. Dubai has always attracted exceptionally strong fields thanks to the incredible quality and reputation of the event with players, along with the generous prize money and ranking pints on offer. This year’s line-up features eight of the Top 10, including four players who’ve held the No.1 ranking and five Grand Slam singles champions. More than that, there is tremendous depth on offer, with all of the direct entrants ranked inside the Top 30. Each one of them has a real shot at doing well during the week. The fans are in for a real treat.
