Following the recent announcement that the season-ending WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Finals will be hosted in Riyadh for the next three years, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has signed another multi-year partnership deal with the organisation to become the first-ever naming partner of the WTA Rankings.
PIF has now become the only global partner across both the WTA and ATP Tours. In February this year, PIF also signed an agreement with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and became the official naming partner of the PIF ATP Rankings.
The end-of-year WTA Finals features the top eight singles players and doubles teams.
The Saudi sovereign fund has also partnered with combined WTA 1000 and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid, in addition to the Beijing WTA 1000 and ATP 500 events.
PIF supports women’s tennis
As part of the sponsorship, the WTA Rankings will now be called PIF WTA Rankings. The partnership will also support the growth of women’s professional tennis and inspire more women and girls around the world to take up the game. It will also enhance and develop initiatives that support players at all levels.
The PIF WTA Rankings will track players’ journeys, and PIF will work with the WTA to celebrate and support the progress and their inspirational stories. The partnership also aims to expand existing initiatives and develop new opportunities for young players.
Mohamed Al Sayyad, Head of Corporate Brand at PIF, commented: “Through our partnership with WTA, PIF will continue to be a catalyst for the growth of women’s sport. We look forward to working with the WTA to increase participation and inspire the next generation of talent. Underpinned by PIF’s four strategic sponsorship pillars, this partnership aligns with our ambition to elevate the game and bring positive growth to the sport around the world.”
Marina Storti, CEO of WTA Ventures, added: “We are delighted to welcome PIF as a Global Partner of the WTA and our first-ever official naming partner of the WTA Rankings. Together, we look forward to sharing the journey of our talented players across the season, as we continue to grow the sport, creating more fans of tennis and inspiring more young people to take up the game.” The WTA partnership adds to PIF’s growing sponsorship portfolio, which focuses on investing in people, initiatives and partnerships; and embraces the brand’s four strategic pillars: inclusivity, sustainability, youth and technology.