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Women's Tennis:
The Marketing Model
Part 3: Sponsorship Woes
Throughout
the mid- to late 70s, interest and participation in tennis
reached unprecedented levels, energized by the on-court
rivalries of Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on the
women’s side and those classic matched of such tennis greats
as John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors. Tennis club
membership surged and lines consistently formed around the
chain-link fences at public courts. In 1976, eight million
wooden tennis racquets were sold.
For the women’s game, 1973
was a definitive year. A "Battle of the Sexes" match was
staged between 1939 Wimbledon men’s champion Bobby Riggs
and fierce feminist Billie Jean King. In a swift kick to
the gut of women’s tennis, Riggs had humiliated the great
Margaret Court in an exhibition match earlier that year.
The women’s game could ill afford a King loss.
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Billie Jean King going
the extra mile for
respect (4Kids Home Page)
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A tennis record crowd of 30,472 packed the Houston Astrodome
while another 48 million tuned in at home to see if the
30-year old King could silence the chauvinistic chatter
from the 56-year old Riggs. She did not disappoint, winning
three straight sets and ushering in a new tennis era. In
victory, King proved women’s tennis to be a veritable market
force, deserving of sponsorship dollars and prize money
equal to that awarded men.
Five years later, tennis reached its zenith. Some 35 million
Americans played the game, making it the eighth most popular
sport in the country.
Soon,
though, and almost inexplicably, the sport was floundering.
Momentum steadily decreased throughout the 1980s and millions
of Americans put down their racquets.
Between 1990 and 1994, retail tennis sales dropped by 40
percent and the sport dropped to number 26 in participation,
trailing even horseshoes in popularity.
Beginning
in 1987, Steffi Graf thoroughly dominated the women’s game
and, in doing so, bored spectators. Martina Navratilova,
a one-woman show herself prior to Graf’s reign, dismissively
called the tour "Steffi and the seven dwarves."
In 1990,
Yugolsav-born youngster Monica Seles rose from a shallow
pool of contenders and sparked an intense rivalry with Graf,
eventually dethroning her. Known equally for her double-clutched
ground-strokes and insatiable shoe fetish (not to mention
a bizarre and unnerving on-court grunt), Seles brought depth
and youthful energy to a game filled with sullen personalities.
Women’s
tennis was, once again, hot.
New
talent emerged and the WTA reflourished. Kraft Foods Inc.
became the overall sponsor while Virginia Slims provided
a strong marketing push. "When I think of Virginia Slims,"
Chris Evert offered, "I don’t think of cigarettes. I think
of opportunities for women athletes."
Mary Pierce winning with Nike
(from http://www.angelfire.com/wy/XR6) |
Touted
as the ‘Can’t-Miss Kid,’ 13-year old Jennifer Capriati turned
pro in 1989 with the support of Italian sportswear giant
Diadora, Prince racquets and HBO, while leggy blond Mary
Pierce proved to be a promising player and a
potent corporate symbol. Meanwhile, on the cracked concrete
courts of Compton, California, a star named Venus Williams
was on the rise.
Success
was short-lived for the WTA as the mid-90s proved to be
a dark time for the organization. In 1993, both Kraft and
Virginia Slims severed their ties with the tour. That same
year, Seles was knocked out of commission after being stabbed
by a rabid Graf fan in Germany. Stalwart Martina Navratilova
had succumbed to knee injuries and was well into the twilight
of her career.
"Eighty percent of the women in the top 100 are fat, lazy
pigs," proclaimed Richard Krajicek at a 1992 Wimbledon press
conference. He was unimpressed with the level of play and
athleticism of the women pros. Under intense backlash Krajicek
recanted: "What I meant to say is that 75 percent are fat
pigs."
Ex-Wimbledon champ Pat Cash recently chimed in, too, with
a jab leveled at the women’s game in London’s "The Mirror."
"Look at Lindsay Davenport. She’s a big girl. When you look
at her you think, ‘Whoa, there is no way she is going to
be a tennis player. Put her in shot put instead.’"
Nasty? Perhaps. Should Lindsay shot put Cash? Probably.
Unfortunately, these hostile sentiments rung true with many
tennis fans. The camera may add ten pounds, but the once
flabby physiques of the quickly fatigued Seles and Davenport
earned the women’s tour a soft reputation.
Capriati, who was such a bright prospect in 1994, joined
the likes of Andrea Jaeger and Tracy Austin as tragic burn-outs.
A multi-millionaire before her 17th birthday, Capriati had
also been arrested for shop-lifting and marijuana possession.
At 18, she entered drug rehab. Tennis was an afterthought.
Infighting among players nearly sunk the tour, as prize
money became a divisive issue. Prize money grows dramatically
in the latter rounds of tournaments so those ousted early
saw little cash. It followed, then, that the top-ranked
players received a disproportionate amount of the funds.
In
the fall of 1997, Patricia Hy-Boulais, the 64th-ranked player
on the tour became president of the Player’s Association
opening the way for lower ranked players to rally behind
her in demand of a larger cut of the tour’s $40 million
purse. Those at the top sent a clear message to their tour
partners: If you want money, you have to win. If you want
to win, you need to practice harder. Bad blood boiled.
The
troubles did not end there. Internal tensions mounted as
the tour ran through three CEOs - one lasted only a day
– in one year. The tour’s domestic television contracts
were set to expire in 1998, as was its overall sponsorship
deal with Canadian software company Corel. Further, international
TV rights at the time belonged to the individual tournaments
and effectively cut the WTA out of its biggest source of
revenue.
| "Eighty
percent of the women in the top 100 are fat, lazy pigs" |
It was, indeed, a time of reflection for the WTA and, however
belated, its response was deft. With Jennifer Capriati as
a chief inspiration, the organization devised age-eligibility
rules for participation in the pro tour, where big money
often lures teens from the junior circuit. The rules also
sought to lengthen the prospective careers of women in a
sport where twenty-year olds are considered veterans.
Under the 1995 guidelines, 14 and 15-year olds can play
in 8 professional events in a given year but no Grand Slams.
The number of off-limit events decreases with age until
a player reaches 18. Then, she may compete freely.
Jim Loehr, of the WTA eligibility commission says, "The
rule goes way beyond protecting a player from the seduction
of money and fame. We’re also talking about preventing injuries.
All the data shows us that the longer we delay stardom,
the better the player’s chances are of sustaining a successful
career." Capriati, by the way, has resurfaced of late and
is enjoying phenomenal on-court success.
NEXT:
The Next Wave>>
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