- Title sponsorship begins in Indian Wells before move to Charlotte in 2027
- Fage already has tennis deals with US Open, ATP Finals and Davis Cup, among others
- WTA seeking more partners amid shift to new operating model for season-ending event
Fage’s new title sponsorship of the WTA Finals came together in “record time” following the women’s tennis tour’s decision to relocate its season-ending event from Saudi Arabia to the US, according to Teodora Ivanova, the chief business officer of WTA Ventures.
The yoghurt brand will serve as the title partner of the next four editions of the WTA Finals, which takes place in Indian Wells this year before heading to Charlotte between 2027 and 2029.
The news comes after the WTA announced in July that its three-year deal to host the Finals in Riyadh would end one season early, leaving what Ivanova described as a “compressed timeline” to secure a title sponsor for the 2026 edition, which takes place from 8th to 15th November.
However, Ivanova said that Fage made its interest in the tournament’s most prominent sponsorship asset “very clear” from the outset, so much so that it pushed for a long-term deal when the WTA had suggested initially focusing on 2026.
Sportfive presented the opportunity to the WTA “just a couple of weeks” after the Charlotte announcement, according to Ivanova, who said that the partnership was brokered by The Team, the tour’s sales agency.
“It absolutely felt like an achievable goal,” Ivanova said, when asked about the challenges of securing a title partner in a matter of months. “Still, I have to say the Fage partnership probably exceeded our expectations and anybody’s expectations.
“But it’s testament to the incredible team that we’re working with, the attractiveness of the WTA as a property, the growth we have seen in women’s tennis, and the opportunity the WTA championship promises for brands.”
Ivanova would not be drawn on the financial terms of the deal but described it as a “very attractive partnership for both sides”.
“We are not going to stop at Fage”
Describing Fage as the “unicorn of yoghurts”, Ivanova also highlighted the “extremely strong” alignment between the two parties, pointing to the company’s status as a 100-year-old heritage brand and its focus on healthy, active lifestyles.
Fage is also already a prominent sponsor in tennis. It has a wide presence across the sport through partnerships with the US Open, ATP Finals, Davis Cup and BNP Paribas Open, and its deal with the WTA will see it become the women’s tour’s official yoghurt partner.
For the WTA Finals, the brand will benefit from visibility across broadcasts and the host venue, product sampling opportunities, fan experiences and hospitality.
The US last hosted the WTA’s flagship event in 2022 but has not staged the competition on a multi-year basis since it was held in Los Angeles between 2002 and 2005.
Since then, the tournament has been held in countries across Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, but has struggled to find a permanent home since the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to the WTA’s ten-year deal to host the Finals in Shenzhen, China.
Despite being the subject of significant scrutiny, the move to Saudi Arabia delivered certainty and record prize money of US$15.5 million – though it is understood that the pot for 2026 will fall to US$10 million.
As part of the move to North Carolina in 2027, the WTA will also take over the running of the Finals, having previously operated a licensing model. Ivanova said that move means “we monetise the event”, giving the tour “the freedom to build and iterate on partnership opportunities”.
That will include creating ways for partners to activate outside of the Finals in Charlotte, which will be reduced from eight days to five. Fage will also benefit from year-round marketing and digital activity outside of the event week, which Ivanova said the WTA wants to become the “Super Bowl of women’s sports”.
According to Ivanova, not all of the partners for this year’s Finals in Indian Wells have yet been announced.
She added that the WTA is seeing “a lot of excitement” from the local business community in Charlotte and that the tour is receiving interest from brands across a mix of industries, ranging from traditional categories like banking and insurance to more consumer-facing and lifestyle brands.
“We are not going to stop at Fage, that’s for sure,” Ivanova said. “We’ve got a strong foundation and strategy of how we integrate partners. We think that this self-operating model will for sure unlock higher opportunities.
“But it will extend beyond the Finals. Making our championship attractive and the Super Bowl of women’s sports will absolutely have an impact on the tour. So it’s a cascading effect on not just the event itself, but actually on the whole product around the tour.
“As your championship is stronger, everything that leads up to that championship becomes stronger. And now you’ve got this self-fulfilling wheel of more interest, which leads to more revenue down the road for everybody.”
“We have a very clear financial plan”
The Fage deal also provides a boost to the WTA amid reports of uncertainty around the tour’s financial position.
The Telegraph reported in September that the tour ‘risks running out of money next year’ if its current rate of losses continue. The report added that the organisation is set to declare an operating loss of US$23 million for 2026, citing the termination of Saudi Arabia’s hosting deal as a contributing factor.
Ivanova reiterated the position previously outlined by WTA chair Valerie Camillo, describing 2026 as a “transition year” for the tour.
“We’ve made a strategic decision and what you’ve seen is a snapshot in time which is in no way representative of the long term or the vision for the future,” Ivanova said.
“We are seeing growth across all of our metrics. We have a very clear financial plan. We know exactly what we’re delivering on. Our financial plan is focused on fiscal discipline but ambitious revenue goals that we feel comfortable with.
“We have an operating machine that can sustain this growth and the cost base that is required to produce this growth, and so we feel very confident about the future.”
Combining richer content, in-depth data and exclusive community benefits, SportsPro+ is your VIP pass into the global sports industry. Discover more here.