'Not Ugly And Wrong Pictures': Sabalenka & Gauff Advise WTA On Their Rebrand
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The WTA went through a rebrand recently, and two of the leading players, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, shared their thoughts on it.
Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world, but to make the most out of it, ATP, WTA, Grand Slams, and tournament organizers also have to do their best to attract tennis fans.
For example, Formula 1 has exploded in popularity in recent years because of the "Drive to Survive" Netflix show, but also their social media marketing strategy, targeted at the young generation.
Tennis would need something similar, and that's also maybe one of the reasons why the WTA has decided to undergo a "rebrand." It was announced only recently, and they already launched a new website design, logo, and overall design change.
But that shouldn't be everything. Tennis players were asked about what else they would like to see from the WTA ahead of the 2025 Indian Wells Open, where they are set to compete next.
The reigning World No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, has a clear idea of what she would like to see more of and less of. The Belarusian player would want the WTA to show more of the players' personalities through social media content. At the same time, she would also want them to avoid using "ugly and wrong" pictures.
"What do I want to see? I want to see more fun and a little bit more structure, like, the way they represent us and show us, and I would like them to show our personalities a little bit more, just so people can actually see and know who we are outside of the tennis court."
"Of course, I would like them to, if they post something and they do something on social media, they post better pictures of us, not where we're looking like really ugly and wrong (smiling). But I think it's a fresh start, and it was much needed for tennis. I hope it's just a good beginning for our sport to explode a little bit better."
Her colleague, Coco Gauff, is one of the youngest players on the WTA Tour. She is one of the players who follow the TikTok trends, and she has spoken about the platform multiple times in the past.
Gauff thinks that the WTA should concentrate more of its efforts on growing on TikTok. She feels that following the trends, like the other sports do, is certainly the way.
"I think social content. Obviously I'm someone who is on social media a lot. A lot more TikToks and following the trends that a lot of the other sports are doing, I know that WTA has a plan in place, and they ask for feedback, and that was the main thing I noticed. I don't personally watch TV or anything like that. That's outside of my expertise."
"But I think TikTok I'm pretty good in. A lot more TikToks of just players' interaction. Hopefully some crossover content. I feel like the crossover content does well with ATP, so I would love to see some more crossover content."
