Inside Emma Raducanu’s stalking ordeal after she was followed to four countries
They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, which is perhaps just as well for the latest attempt to transform the image of women’s tennis.
The launch of a new logo for the Women’s Tennis Association, unveiled this week along with a revamped colour scheme and a fresh rallying cry, has occasioned much chatter among fans, with ‘ugly’, ‘boring’ and ‘horrible’ among the kinder verdicts.
Kristina Mladenovic, a former doubles world No 1 and winner of nine grand slam doubles titles, echoed the wider reaction on social media, questioning the rationale behind a change that has polarised opinion.
‘Wondering how you can come up with this and who approves?’ wrote Mladenovic, above a picture juxtaposing the new green logo with the previous purple version, which featured a player silhouette.
‘Green and white? No tennis details? What does it represent? Previous logo was so much better.’
It is certainly a departure from the earlier design, which debuted four years ago and was trumpeted as ‘a badge of pride and a reminder of the power of unity among strong individuals’.
But as any tennis player – or marketing executive, come to that – will tell you, results are all that matter, and in that respect the WTA is in the rudest of health.
In 2024, women’s tennis reached a record cumulative global audience of 1.1 billion on television and streaming platforms, a 10 percent increase on the previous year.
