Japanese personal care company Shiseido has agreed a deal with the Women’s Tennis Association to become the title sponsor of the season-ending WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China.
Under the agreement, this year’s event will officially be known as the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen. The tournament will run from October 27 to November 3 at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center.
To mark the partnership, the event has announced its ‘Sparks Will Fly’ slogan. As part of the campaign, a video series will be produced featuring prominent female contributors to local tennis in China, including chair umpire Jennifer Zhang.
Steve Simon, chairman and chief executive of the WTA, said: “As a prestigious leader in business, Shiseido’s commitment to empower women and creating opportunities for younger generations to experience fun and inspirational events like the WTA Finals reflects a fantastic synergy between our respective brands.”
Shenzhen was announced as the new long-term host of the WTA Finals in January 2018. The city’s 10-year hosting deal with the WTA begins this year and runs until 2028. Shenzhen will assume hosting rights from Singapore.
The WTA has also confirmed that the prize money purse for this year’s Finals will be $14m (€12.5m) – double the amount offered last year.