BNP Paribas / TEB to Title Sponsor WTA Champs. in Turkey

BNP Paribas, the French banking group, and its Turkish subsidiary, Türk Ekonomi Bankası (TEB), have agreed a three-year title sponsorship to the season-ending Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Championships in Istanbul.

Under terms of the three-year agreement which begins this year, the tournament will be officially titled as the TEB-BNP Paribas WTA Championships, with TEB-BNP Paribas also receiving on-court branding, broadcast and digital exposure plus official bank status at the tournament.

The TEB-BNP Paribas WTA Championships will feature the top eight players and the top four doubles teams in the WTA rankings competing for a share of the US$5m prize pot.

The latest deal is likely to be worth at least $2m a year and the WTA is already believed to have banked a significant mid-eight figure amount to hold the season-ending tournament in Turkey.

Varol Civil, chief executive of TEB, said: “By becoming the title sponsor of the WTA Championships in Istanbul, TEB is carrying forward the BNP Paribas Group’s global sports sponsorship policy. As well as enhancing the local and international impact of this major sports event, our sponsorship will contribute to the development of tennis in this country with the experience, knowledge and organisation ability brought by the WTA.

“In supporting women’s tennis at the highest level, we are also promoting the values of excellence and self-challenge which our group holds dear. We are looking forward to sharing in this outstanding event with the Turkish people who will, I am sure, give the most enthusiastic welcome to the elite athletes of women’s tennis.”

TEB are planning significant domestic activation in Turkey, while they and BNP Paribas will both receive international marketing and promotion across all WTA platforms, including digital and social media channels.

Stacey Allaster, chief executive of the WTA, added: “We are very excited and extremely proud to name TEB-BNP Paribas as the title sponsor of our year-end championships, the apex of our season, for the next three years. Our partnership with TEB-BNP Paribas is yet another example of how attractive women’s tennis is to sponsors.”