WTA ends 12-year title sponsor search with ‘landmark’ Hologic deal

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Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that CSM Sports & Entertainment was involved in the global title sponsorship. CSM is the WTA's sales agency of record, but was not involved in the WTA's partnership with Hologic.

The WTA Tour has secured a landmark new partnership with women’s health-focused med-tech firm Hologic in the largest global sponsorship agreement in the tour’s history, the WTA announced today.

Hologic is one of the world’s top medical technology innovators, with a primary focus on improving women’s health and wellbeing. As the WTA’s new title sponsor, Hologic is also set to become the tour’s official health partner and “equality champion”.

Financial details were not disclosed, but according to the WTA, the investment by Hologic will “provide significant support across the Tour and to all of its members”—which includes tournament distribution, player prize money and the tour’s central organization.

“From the start, we knew Hologic was the right partner,” said WTA President Micky Lawler. “As we embark on a new era of women breaking barriers and understanding how imperative our health is to reach our full potential, Hologic joins the WTA family at a pivotal time. Reflecting on the passion we both share for women’s equality around the world, I look forward to the meaningful change this partnership will spark for our athletes, sport, and fans.”

This is the first global partnership for Hologic, who recently made its national ad debut with a Mary J. Blige-led spot in the Super Bowl. The medical-technology company has been on the leading edge of women’s health for 36 years: Hologic developed the first commercial system for 3-D mammography and the widely used test for cervical cancer screening.

“Hologic and the WTA come together with a collective purpose as pioneering advocates for women,” said Hologic Chairman, President and CEO Steve MacMillan. “We are proud to stand with the WTA in its commitment to the highest integrity and values. Ultimately, our partnership allows us to jointly raise the profile of women even higher and to share the importance of early detection and treatment with women across the world.”

As the official health partner of the WTA, Hologic will also apply its expertise in women’s health as the founding partner of Hologic WTA Labs, a WTA initiative focused on “health innovation and research-based projects specific to female athletes”. More joint activities are expected to be announced in the coming months.

Hologic will be integrated into the WTA ecosystem across all platforms, including net signage at all WTA tournaments as well as virtual advertising at WTA 1000 and 500 events.

The deal is a major win for the WTA, who have been on the hunt for a title sponsor since Sony Ericsson downgraded its investment in women’s tennis in 2010. The tour renewed its efforts two years ago with its appointment of CSM Sports & Entertainment as the WTA’s sponsorship sales agency of record, with the goal of identifying and developing the WTA’s commercial opportunities.

At the time, the WTA had four Global Partners: Dubai Duty Free, an airport retailer; iQiyi, a Netflix-style Chinese online video platform; Porsche, a luxury car manufacturer and SAP, a software and cloud-computing giant. (Since the end of 2021, iQiyi requested for its logo to be removed from the WTA’s website amid the tour’s ongoing suspension of Chinese tournaments. The Wall Street Journal reported that the partnership, valued at $120 million over 10 years, remains in place until 2027.)

Through its partnership with CSM, the WTA has rapidly accelerated its sponsorship growth within the last year, though a WTA spokesperson clarified to TENNIS.com that CSM was not involved in the partnership with Hologic. In August, the tour brought on FanDuel as its first official betting and fantasy sports partner, and in November it inked a multi-year Global Partner deal with wearable technology innovators WHOOP.