AEGON Extends Sponsorship Of LTA For Four Years

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 13th June 2013

AEGON Extends Sponsorship Of LTA For Four Years

epa03743090 Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina returns the ball to Britain's Daniel Evans during their third round match of the Aegon Tennis Championships at the Queen's Club in London, Britain, 13 June 2013. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

Negative publicity for Lawn Tennis Association and particularly the outgoing chief executive Roger Draper have outweighed success stories since AEGON first announced their £25 million deal to be the sport’s all- encompassing sponsor in Britain five years ago. Undeterred, the financial service company is more than happy to be the LTA’s ‘lead partner’ for another four years.

The LTA became one of the most debated sporting bodies in the United Kingdom. In fact it even became a matter for the House of Lords and Draper’s exorbitant salary, plus a massive bonus that amounted to £600,000 appalled many. However, not AEGON, it seems.

In announcing the renewal of the deal, AEGON UK’s chief executive Adrian Grace said: “The deal is very similar to the one we had previously. I mean, there are some changes to it when you look through the detail of it. But I think overall we will be investing, continue to invest all levels of British tennis.

“I look at the outputs and what we’ve got out of it. If you look at our brand recognition, the brand recognition that we have got in the UK as a result of this has tripled over the last period of time.”

Draper, who will stand down once a successor is announced in September, is clearly a happy man to leave a financial legacy regardless of the fact that the numbers of British people actually playing tennis continues to drop.

Draper said: “AEGON has been a crucial partner in our on-going work to transform British tennis, so I am delighted it continues to share our vision for the sport. This commitment demonstrates it also shares our excitement about the future of our sport.”

AEGON will continue as title sponsor of the ongoing grass-court tournaments at Queen’s Club (the AEGON Championships) and Edgbaston (the Aegon Classic). The AEGON International, which is part of both the ATP World Tour and the WTA will be staged at Eastbourne next week.

All three tournaments have been performing well commercially. Queen’s continues to sell out every year, Eastbourne has reported a 33% improvement on ticket sales compared with 12 months ago and Edgbaston is up by 13.5 per cent.

In addition, AEGON will continue to support a number of lower-level competitions as well as the British Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams. The company’s sponsorship has coincided with significant progress in international competition although neither the Davis Cup or Fed Cup team have yet managed to reclaim World Group status.

Nevertheless Grace said: “Tennis is one of the most exciting and inspirational sports to be involved in. It appeals to young and old, across all backgrounds and brings people and communities together. Anyone can pick up a racket and play.”