The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has announced that financial services company BNP Paribas has extended its title sponsorship of the season-ending WTA Championships.
BNP Paribas will receive branding exposure through on-court signage, and international marketing and promotion across all WTA platforms, including broadcast, digital and social media channels. This year the tournament is switching from Istanbul in Turkey to Singapore, where it will stay until 2018. The length of the deal with BNP Paribas was not disclosed.
“We are excited and extremely proud to once again name BNP Paribas as the title sponsor of our WTA Championships,” WTA chairman and chief executive Stacey Allaster said. “For more than 40 years, the BNP Paribas Group has promoted tennis in all its forms throughout the world. Our continued partnership with BNP Paribas is an example of the appeal women’s tennis holds among top global brands.”
Pierre Veyres, chief executive of the BNP Paribas Singapore branch and regional head for South East Asia, said: “As a leading international financial institution in Asia Pacific and a long-time partner of tennis worldwide, we are excited to bring tennis to a whole new level with Singapore positioned as a world-class sports hub. Our title sponsorship of the BNP Paribas WTA Championships reflects our continued commitment to the sports community across continents with the hope to connect this region to the rest of the tennis world.”
Veyres explained that the deal made sense to BNP Paribas, with the tournament taking place in a key market for the company. “Asia Pacific is a region where the BNP Paribas Group has strong ambitions with Singapore being a key component of our plan,” he said. “We are very pleased to associate our brand with such a prestigious event to build on the momentum.” The World Sport Group agency promotes the tournament.