ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - The WTA Tour and Sony Ericsson reached a contract extension that continues their relationship through the end of 2012 but drops the mobile phone company as the title sponsor of the women's tennis tour.
In 2005, Sony Ericsson became the global title sponsor for the WTA Tour under a six-year, $88 million deal due to expire at the end of 2010. Now the circuit's name will just be "WTA Tour."
"It's a non-title deal, but they remain the tour's exclusive lead, global partner. No one will come in at a higher level than Sony Ericsson. That's our commitment to them," WTA chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster said in a telephone interview Sunday.
"Sony Ericsson has been one of the best sponsors in the history of women's tennis -- and tennis in general," she added. "This new agreement provides our organization and our members with financial stability, which has been a priority as we work through this ever-challenging global economy."
Sony Ericsson also no longer will have the title rights for the tour's season-ending championships. While Allaster said she will not seek a replacement title sponsor for the tour itself, she will "get into the market very quickly for a partner" for those championships.
Financial terms of the extension were not announced, but Allaster said the "average net profit" is "not too dissimilar" from the prior deal.
"There's no question it's a different period of time. The deal has been restructured," she said, then continued: "It's a very good financial deal for the WTA Tour. What we get out of it is financial stability in '11 and '12."
SportsBusinessJournal.com reported that the new agreement creates a nearly three-year, $27 million sponsorship contract.