WTA seals bumper TV deal worth £335m
New media rights contract worth more than $525m
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Women’s Tennis Association has agreed to a new media rights contract worth more than $525m (£335m) over the next 10 years.
The deal, announced Tuesday, keeps the WTA’s international television rights with its current broadcast distribution partner, Perform, but expands the scope of the relationship.
Their current agreement runs from 2013-16 but the new contract runs to 2026 with plans to produce every singles match, which is around 2,000 fixtures, for the first time.
WTA chairwoman Stacey Allastar called the new deal “a game-changer”, which guarantees annual TV rights fees of £21m from Perform, nearly double the current agreement. The deal includes “eight figures” a year in “production investment”.
Meanwhile, Martina Navratilova will take on her first big coaching role after agreeing to work with world No 6 Agnieszka Radwanska.
“She is my tennis idol,” said Radwanska. “Her achievements speak for themselves and I hope that I can learn from all her experience.”
Navratilova, 58, said: “I did not sleep very well last night, thinking about getting back into match mode and the competitions.”
She joins the trend of players hiring former stars as coaches, including Andy Murray with Ivan Lendl and then Amélie Mauresmo, Novak Djokovic with Boris Becker, Roger Federer with Stefan Edberg, Marin Cilic with Goran Ivanisevic, and Kei Nishikori with Michael Chang.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments