WTA (Women's Tennis Association)Copied

The Women's Tennis Association was founded in 1973, when Billie Jean King rallied fellow players into what is now a membership body of two equal-partner constituencies, players and tournaments. Nearly 50 years on, its logo dated from 2011. In December 2020 it unveiled its first redesign in ten years, alongside a new website, a simplified numerical naming system for tournaments and a campaign, 'WTA For The Game'.

Landor Australia, hired after its work for the Australian Open, handled strategy, identity and the launch campaign. Landor Melbourne general manager Jessica Murphy told B&T that the WTA was founded not on tradition but by revolutionary women challenging the status quo, so the brand was repositioned around 'The Power of Association': uniting the competitive power of women, and bringing together association, players and fans.

Graphic elements were built from the lines of a tennis court, Mumbrella and B&T reported. The WTA's signature purple was retained, supported by a stronger colour palette and imagery about power and determination. Tennis.com noted that the logo returns to the profile of a player in her service motion, and that a tennis ball still serves as the crossbar of the A, as in the 2011 version, giving the mark a kinetic energy. The identity runs across TV graphics, tournament branding, print, advertising and digital.

The campaign told players' stories in their own words, featuring Naomi Osaka, Coco Gauff, Simona Halep and Iga Swiatek. WTA president Micky Lawler told Adweek it explored the driving force behind the players.

Tennis.com noted the timing and the context. The logo arrived early in the off season with a new website, kept the purple motif and the 2011 tennis ball crossbar, and the figure was not modelled on any particular star, though the writer joked it fell somewhere between Karolina Pliskova and Svetlana Kuznetsova. The same week the tour renamed its tiers, merging Premier Mandatory and Premier 5 into WTA 1000 events, so casual fans could finally read the calendar. The tier change probably did more for comprehension than the logo, but launching them together was smart.

Bringing the serving player back was the right call; it is the most human, recognisable element tennis branding has. The court-line system is clever if a little expected. The result is cleaner and more energetic without throwing away the purple equity, which is about as much as a sports body can ask of a rebrand.