WTA’S SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY IS 4X MORE FANS IN EIGHTEEN MONTHS

Written by: Staff on 15th August 2011

WTA’S SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNITY IS 4X MORE FANS IN EIGHTEEN MONTHS

Maria Sharapova of Russia tosses the ball for a serve against Serena Williams of the US during the Bank of the West tennis at Stanford University in Stanford, California, USA, 29 July 2011. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced today that

the social media community of the WTA and its players has surpassed 23 million fans, more

than quadrupling in size over the past 18 months. The growth in social media fans of the sport

has been highlighted by strong growth in the WTA’s Facebook page; significant increases in

the social media fan bases of WTA players; and enormous gains across social media channels

in China.

“Fans love social media and they really connect with women’s tennis through it. We like it

because it establishes a deeper engagement with our fans. It also drives the growth of our

player, tournament and sponsor businesses, and is a strategic priority for the WTA. This digital

engagement will continue to become more and more important as we seek to grow our

sport’s popularity,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA.

The increased popularity of the WTA and its stars in the social media space is in part a by-

product of women’s tennis being one of the most global sports in the world. Earlier this year,

the ten players in the World Top 10 Rankings hailed from ten different nations.

The WTA’s remarkable fan growth has been achieved by the sport working closely with the

players, sponsors and tournaments on creating an entire ecosystem of new destinations for

tennis fans in social media. In addition to news, updates, photos, and videos, the WTA uses

social media for geo-targeted messages and unique content, promoting ticket sales and

alerting fans whenever their favorite player’s match is on TV.

Additionally, the WTA’s new global advertising campaign “Strong is Beautiful” has driven

online interest in women’s tennis, with the TV spots viewed on YouTube close to 1.8 million

times. Earlier this year, the WTA partnered with its lead global sponsor Sony Ericsson for a

tennis-themed online TV show series “Xperia Hot Shots” which has since grown close to

819,000 Facebook fans and achieved 3 million YouTube views in a matter of months.

Maria Sharapova, three-time Grand Slam Champion and listed by Forbes as the most

marketable female athlete on the planet, leads the WTA player Facebook fan count with 5.3

million followers, boosting the number by 250,000 new fans every month. On Twitter Serena

Williams is number one among WTA players, with a following of more than 2.1 million fans.

A trailblazer for women’s tennis in China, French Open Champion Li Na, leads the WTA’s

Chinese social media fan base with 2.7 million fans on Sina Weibo. While women’s tennis was

rapidly growing in popularity in China even before Li Na became the first Chinese player in

history to win a Grand Slam earlier this summer, the Chinese star has given the sport an extra

push in penetrating the largest Internet market on the pl anet. Close to 420 million people in

China already use the Internet, giving the WTA unprecedented potential to connect with

current and future fans of the sport. In China, the WTA has partnered with such national social

media companies as Sina Weibo, Renren, Baidu and QQ, the outcome of which has resulted in a series of social media channels for local fans to connect with their favorite tennis players in

Chinese. Now counting a combined 10 million social media fans in China, WTA and its players

are in a prime position to promote women’s tennis and attract new sponsors interested in

reaching Chinese audiences.