The move follows an unprecedented turnaround and momentum for women’s professional tennis under Scott’s leadership
Scott, who assumed the helm of the Tour in April 2003, has engineered an aggressive growth program that has led women’s professional tennis to record performances in the areas of sponsorship, television, marketing and media.
“Larry has done a tremendous job in stabilising and turning around the business of the Tour,” said Steve Simon, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tournament Board Representative, Chairman of the Tournament Council and Tournament Director of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California. “He deserves a great credit for this as well as for his leadership in leading the Tour through the process of a major reform which will position the Tour for long term success within the sports and entertainment industry.”
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to lead women’s professional tennis to even greater global popularity,” said Scott. “Together with our players, tournaments, Sony Ericsson and our sponsors, media partners and management team we have been able to achieve so much to expand the game to new corners of the globe and to enhance the fan experience. We have great momentum and the challenge today and for the future is to ensure that we consistently deliver the world’s best female athletes to our fans.”
In announcing its decision, the Tour Board cited a number of accomplishments from Scott’s tenure as CEO, including (i) signing of Sony Ericsson to the largest sponsorship deal in the history of women’s sport and professional tennis, valued at $88 million over six years, (ii) signing of a series of leading global brands as sponsors, including Whirlpool, Dubai Duty Free, TOM Group, Wilson, Travelex, USANA Health Sciences, Gatorade and Bed Bath & Beyond, among other, (iii) signing of Eurosport to the largest TV deal in the history of women’s tennis, a four year extension of the Tour’s international TV rights deal through 2011, (iv) engineering a major turnaround of the Tour’s financial health by increasing Tour revenues 74% and increasing sponsorship revenues five-fold since 2003.
