Mercedes-Benz steps up in women’s tennis. What matters in the WTA deal?

A closer look at the deal between the automotive brand and the global women’s tennis tour.

After the end of its long-running title partnership with Hologic, WTA did not leave the top sponsorship slot vacant for long.

The new long-term partnership was officially announced in December at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. From next year, and for an open-ended term, Mercedes-Benz becomes the tour’s Premier Partner and Exclusive Automotive Partner.

So what matters in this deal for tennis industry insiders and marketers?

1. Mercedes-Benz secures title-level presence, but in a softer format than the former Hologic WTA Tour. From 2026, the tour will be branded WTA Tour driven by Mercedes-Benz. This may slightly reduce direct media citation, but it feels more contemporary and allows the brand to shape the tone without renaming the tour itself.

2. The release confirms that the Mercedes-Benz logo will appear as a net post sign (branding on the net posts), debuting at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open (WTA 500) and the Ostrava Open (WTA 250) in February 2026. The official visuals already show how this will look — and the execution is strong.

3. It is also stated that the brand will have a physical presence at around 30 tournaments in 2026, with a wider rollout planned from 2027. At key tournament venues, Mercedes-Benz will provide an exclusive vehicle fleet for players, officials and guests, described as delivering “unique driving experiences.”

It remains unclear whether the brand is planning any distinctive engagement with players and fans, or whether this is simply marketing language. Either way, I suspect we’ll find out soon enough.

Against the backdrop of Mercedes-Benz’s recent contract with American star Coco Gauff, this partnership reads as a calculated bet on the US market — a market the brand does not want to merely enter, but to park in for the long term, with the expectation of eventually having a potential world No. 1 among its assets (given the brand’s ambitions, this interpretation is hard to miss).

The only remaining question is what the current tour leader, Aryna Sabalenka, thinks about that.

Cover photo: WTA and Mercedes-Benz representatives at the partnership announcement, featuring Mathias Geisen of Mercedes-Benz, Valerie Camillo as WTA Chair, Marina Storti as CEO of WTA Ventures, Billie Jean King as WTA Founder, Andrea Petkovic as former WTA Top 10 player, and Christina Scheck of Mercedes-Benz. Source: WTA