Accenture becomes the WTA’s Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner, starting with an AI-powered rebuild of the WTA Player Zone. The deal, brokered through WTA Ventures’ sales agency, adds to the consultancy’s recent agreements with The R&A and the NFL.
Accenture has signed a multi-year deal with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), becoming the body’s Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner.
The consultancy says it will begin by “reinventing” the WTA Player Zone, the digital platform designed to be used by every player on the tour, and promises to turn it “into a seamless, data-driven and intuitive hub.” AI will be playing a role.
The partnership is ultimately to “broaden in scope to engage new audiences and deepen live event experiences. Tech aside, it is to include “joint storytelling and content development to highlight the impact of the work and the broader momentum behind women’s sport.”
The deal was brokered by THE·TEAM, Sales Agency of Record for WTA Ventures. WTA Ventures is in turn the WTA’s commercial arm, established in 2023 in partnership with CVC Capital Partners.
CVC, meanwhile, has a number of holdings in sport, among them Bruin Capital, the Jordan Company, LaLiga, Ligue de Football Professionnel, Volleyball World, PREM Rugby, Six Nations, and Global Sport Group (GSG). As we’ve reported, GSG raised about €3.7 billion in March.
Also in March Accenture signed a six-year deal with golf’s The R&A, becoming its Official Business and Technology Consulting Partner. Here the consultancy is promising to “modernize how the sport is governed, delivered and experienced.”
As for men’s tennis, the ATP Tour has since 2015 had a deal in place with Infosys for digital matters. Nowadays the deal concerns AI in addition to data analytics and cloud computing. One the deal’s fruits is the ATP Carbon Tracker, for the players. This year’s plans include a “bespoke content series” to provide fans with “tennis data, insights and match statistics” and a dedicated activation program, to be implemented with the players, for “digital promotions and VIP hospitality at select ATP tournaments.” This deal has just been renewed through 2028.
Accenture has a further, five-year deal with the NFL, signed in 2024. This one concerns football, financial operations and personnel (HCM and ERP).
