The Women’s Tennis Association has unveiled a new multi-year deal with global professional service firm Accenture to upgrade its digital ecosystem, as it continues its growth plans.
Under the agreement, Accenture becomes the official business and technology consulting partner of the WTA and will use “artificial intelligence (AI), data-driven insights, and advanced technologies” to enhance the sport’s digital infrastructure.
Accenture’s initial focus will be transforming the WTA Player Zone, the centralized platform used by athletes for official player interactions, managing credentials, accessing tournament information, schedules, health resources, and handling tour-related business, into a data-driven hub.
The tour said that by starting with improvements to the athlete experience, the partnership creates a foundation for continued innovation and growth across the sport.
Speaking to Sportcal (GlobalData Sport), WTA’s chief business officer Teodora Ivanova-Limon explained: “Every player on the WTA has to go through this application – that’s where they go and see the list of tournaments, where they have the option to enrol, and it’s a bit of a WTA Tour hub, and information on where they go next sits in that application.
“For a player on the tour, this is a really important pain point as they travel around the world from tournament to tournament and they have to decide on where to enrol – they travel with their families often so considerations such as who else is involved in the tournament, how far away is it from the previous tournament they’ve played in and what is the potential for rankings at each of the tournaments are really important.
“The idea is that Accenture is going to spend time with our players and will go through a deep discovery phase, understand what’s most important to them, and then do a complete overhaul of the application, which is something our players are incredibly excited about.”
Beyond technological improvements, the partnership will see Accenture support the WTA in scaling its global operations and engaging new audiences through storytelling and content development to highlight the growth of women’s sport.
Mauro Macchi, chief executive of Accenture in EMEA, said: “Women’s tennis is already one of the most popular and commercially successful sports globally, and we believe its future will be shaped by what we build.
“This ethos is at the heart of our partnership with the WTA, where we look forward to combining technology, data and AI to reinvent the athlete experience and help drive the continued growth of the game around the world.”
WTA Ventures chief executive Marina Sorti added: “This collaboration is about more than just technology; it’s about advancing how we support our athletes by delivering a connected and efficient digital experience - while continuing our journey to grow women’s tennis globally.”
The partnership was brokered by The.Team, the global sports and media giant formerly known as Wasserman, via its US rights sales group, which acted as sales agent to WTA Ventures.
The partnership builds on Accenture’s sports client portfolio, having secured a wide-ranging partnership with The Royal and Ancient (R&A) UK-based golfing body in March.
Under the next six-year deal, Accenture will provide business transformation and management consulting services to support The R&A’s priorities across governance, championships, and development of the sport using its expertise in digital, cloud, data, and artificial intelligence.
Other partners include American football’s NFL, which secured a five-year partnership in 2024 to work across its football, financial operations, and human resources business divisions.
Accenture also has a three-year front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with MI New York, the franchise competing in the Major League Cricket US Twenty20 competition, running through 2026.
The new deal, meanwhile, is the latest for WTA Ventures, which oversees the commercial and media rights operations of the women's tennis tour, since being formed in March 2023 as part of a strategic partnership between the organization and the CVC Capital Partners fund.
It follows a long-term title sponsorship agreement struck with car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz late last year that runs through 2035, described as “the most significant in WTA history.” With the circuit now known commercially as the ‘WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.’
The deal continues the WTA’s strong growth momentum, including the launch of a new brand identity and the award of the biggest-ever prize money payout in the history of both professional tennis and women’s sport, which was awarded to Elena Rybakina, singles champion at the 2025 WTA Finals.
The agreement also comes amid the WTA Tour’s search for a new chief executive, with Portia Archer stepping down from the role last month - less than two years after her appointment.
At the time, WTA Tour Valerie Camillo said the tour was “working through a transition plan for leadership of the WTA Tour and will share an update on this by mid-May.”
It has not been made clear if the WTA’s “transition plan” will involve reorganization or outside hires, having restructured its leadership ahead of Archer’s arrival.
