Rao Signs Racquet Endorsement Deal with Babolat
Bad Nauheim, Germany. June 15, 2004 – American tennis rising star Sunitha Rao has signed a two-year racquet endorsement contract with Babolat. Under the agreement, 18-year old Rao will play the Babolat Pure Drive Plus racquet, Babolat natural gut strings and use Babolat overgrips. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Bradenton, Florida resident was top ranked throughout her junior career, winning one National title and reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open Junior Championships. In 2003, she reached the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Juniors event and achieved a singles world ranking of 152 on the WTA Tour. This year, Rao was a semifinalist at the USTA Women's Challenger of Rockford in February, and reached the semifinals of her last two tournaments at the $25,000 Challenger events in Seoul and Changwon, Korea.
'I am excited to begin a professional relationship with Babolat. They are a leader in their field and supported me with their quality products throughout my junior career,' said Sunitha Rao.
'Babolat has a reputation of supporting young champions and accompanying them in their first tournaments before sharing in this success. We are excited to work with Sunitha as she takes her game to the next level,' said Luca Appino, Sports Marketing Director, Babolat.
The Babolat agreement was negotiated by ITMS Sports, Sunitha Rao's business managers. 'Babolat has shown us that they are committed to Sunitha as one of the top young Americans on the WTA Tour,' said George S. Pascal, President of ITMS Sports.
In addition to managing the careers of world class athletes, ITMS Sports offers worldwide expertise across major sports and event marketing disciplines: athlete representation, integrated event management, marketing consulting and sponsorship fulfillment. ITMS Sports is a subsidiary of ITMS Marketing GmbH, an advertising and marketing communications group based in Germany.
For further information please contact:
George S. Pascal
ITMS Sports
E-mail: george.pascal@itms.de
Phone: +49 (0)6032 3459-0
Telefax: +49 (0)6032 3459-29
The Bradenton, Florida resident was top ranked throughout her junior career, winning one National title and reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open Junior Championships. In 2003, she reached the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Juniors event and achieved a singles world ranking of 152 on the WTA Tour. This year, Rao was a semifinalist at the USTA Women's Challenger of Rockford in February, and reached the semifinals of her last two tournaments at the $25,000 Challenger events in Seoul and Changwon, Korea.
'I am excited to begin a professional relationship with Babolat. They are a leader in their field and supported me with their quality products throughout my junior career,' said Sunitha Rao.
'Babolat has a reputation of supporting young champions and accompanying them in their first tournaments before sharing in this success. We are excited to work with Sunitha as she takes her game to the next level,' said Luca Appino, Sports Marketing Director, Babolat.
The Babolat agreement was negotiated by ITMS Sports, Sunitha Rao's business managers. 'Babolat has shown us that they are committed to Sunitha as one of the top young Americans on the WTA Tour,' said George S. Pascal, President of ITMS Sports.
In addition to managing the careers of world class athletes, ITMS Sports offers worldwide expertise across major sports and event marketing disciplines: athlete representation, integrated event management, marketing consulting and sponsorship fulfillment. ITMS Sports is a subsidiary of ITMS Marketing GmbH, an advertising and marketing communications group based in Germany.
For further information please contact:
George S. Pascal
ITMS Sports
E-mail: george.pascal@itms.de
Phone: +49 (0)6032 3459-0
Telefax: +49 (0)6032 3459-29