WTA Ventures: Queen’s, CVC Capital Partners and an organisation pushing on
After a successful week of WTA tennis at Queen’s, WTA Ventures chief Marina Storti discusses the state of the sport, its private equity partner CVC Capital Partners and a potential merger with the ATP.
When 37-year-old Tatjana Maria upset the odds to win the HSBC Championships in front of 9,000 fans on Sunday, she became the first woman to hold a trophy aloft at Queen’s Club in over five decades.
Because top tier women’s tennis returned to the picturesque west London spot last week in a WTA 500 event that’s surely set to become a mainstay on the women’s tour.
Marina Storti, head of the tour’s commercial arm WTA Ventures, says the tournament sold out for three of its seven days. And while new British No1 Emma Raducanu couldn’t make her run extend to the final, tennis fans were able to enjoy women’s grass court tennis in central London for the first time in a generation.
WTA growth
“You’ve seen an incremental growth by bringing this great event to central London,” Storti told CityAM. “I think it’s incredible. It’s so meaningful for us, because it’s where the WTA was founded. So to have an event like this, and to have a sold out audience in the first year, that’s a pretty amazing achievement, and I know they’ll continue to build on it.”
The former Sky and Now TV bigwig insisted, too, that reports coming out of Eastbourne – which was relegated in standing to accommodate Queen’s – suggested its own ticket interest had been maintained amid fears it could be severely damaged by its reclassification.
WTA Ventures was established in collaboration with private equity giant CVC Capital Partners, which invested £125m in the WTA for a 20 per cent stake in the resulting entity.
The WTA joined the CVC Capital Partners sport portfolio alongside assets including LaLiga, Six Nations Rugby and the Gujarat Titans in cricket’s IPL.
“CVC is very much a strategic partner,” added Storti. “Firstly, they’re long term investors, they’ve come in because they see that long term opportunity. They spot those opportunities really early, but they also come in knowing that it’s important to invest in the sport for the long term.”
Along with a sponsorship agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and the oil-rich state hosting the WTA Finals, a deal with CVC appears to be helping the women’s tour propel itself on the court and, commercially, off it.
CVC has reportedly bid $1bn for a group of major tennis competitions, including 1000-ranked events in Madrid and Miami, something Storti puts down to their investment in the WTA.
Everybody sees the fact that together, we are stronger
She says it is “testament to the success of WTA Ventures”, adding that “if they are investing in the sport, it just shows how well that’s going. You’d have to speak to them about their plans, but I would say that they’re really delighted with how WTA Ventures is going.”
Success off the court
Any success can only fuel the continued merger talks between the WTA and its men’s equivalent the ATP. The tours are preparing to vote on a commercial merger but the number of interested parties is making a smooth timeline difficult.
Storti described it as a “complex ecosystem”, insisting “there are opportunities to simplify that ecosystem”.
“Having said that,” she adds, “everybody sees the fact that together, we are stronger – the men and the women’s side. Our partners often want to be in both men and women’s tennis. Our fans watch both men and women’s tennis, and the more we can collaborate and work together to try and simplify that governance and ecosystem, I think it can only be a good thing for the sport.
“They are complex conversations, and they’re going to take time, because there are so many people involved, so many people affected by it. It’s not a straightforward thing to execute. There’s certainly willingness on both sides to work together to grow the sport.”
It’ll be unsurprising to Londoners to see a women’s event at Queen’s be so successful in its first tournament for 50 years. But for those at the WTA it’ll be a welcome relief.
Tennis is seemingly as popular as it ever has been, and with its British grass court season set to be another roaring success the commercial future looks bright – if interested parties can cut red tape.