Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka Blend Style And Branding

Top WTA Tour Players pose with the Billie Jean King trophy for the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. L to R: Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, Madison Keys, Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff

Yumna Al-Arashi/WTA

The 2025 WTA Finals get underway tomorrow in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, for top players, the branding game begins before the tournament starts. The WTA Finals pre-tournament photoshoot has evolved from a yearbook-style class picture into an opportunity to promote the tour and personal brands.

“The WTA Finals portrait shoot brings the WTA’s mission to life, celebrating the strength, individuality, and global influence of our athletes. It reflects our belief that the court is not just a field of competition, but a stage for greatness,” WTA Ventures CEO Marina Storti said in an email to me.

Earlier this year, WTA Ventures, the commercial arm of the tour, worked with branding specialists Nomad and ChapterX, to redesign the tour’s identity.

The objective was to preserve the past while promoting the future, lean into the global expansion of the game and diversity with a new theme: Rally the World.

“We’re honoring that legacy, and very politely thanking it for its service, so that we can go further and push a bit harder,” Nomad’s senior strategist, Issy Maguire, said in an interview with British-based Design Week. “The time had to be now because we are at an inflection point for women’s sports.”

Maguire sought to make today’s WTA stars more like characters in a drama, reflecting the binge-watching, TikTok-gamification of pop culture.

Luckily for the WTA, its crop of social media-savvy superstars is marketing in motion. The WTAs Big 3 have easy-to-digest nicknames like Coco, Iga, and Saba. Players wear sponsorship patches on their clothing and promote jewelry, headphones, and handbags. From the walk-out to the post-match press conference, every moment on camera is a marketing opportunity.

Although, the year-end championships predate the formation of the WTA — the Virginia Slims Circuit began an end-of-year tournament in 1972 — the current elite eight round-robin format began in 2003. This was the dawn of the glamour girls. Serena and Venus Williams drew record television ratings. Then, in 2004, Maria Sharapova emerged as an endorsement diva and reached her first WTA final.

Still, the WTA Finals wasn’t as posh and polished as it is today. The 2006 WTA pre-tournament photoshoot looked more like a gathering of college women out on a sightseeing trip.

In 2007, Hugo Boss styled outfits for players who posed in what looked like a Forever 21 ad. Sharapova, Daniela Hantuchova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, and Serena, all emerging fashionistas capitalized on the advent of equal prize money and tennis stars transcending the sport.

As the profiles of the players and their endorsement portfolios grew, the year-end photo shoot got more glamourous. By 2012, Serena and Sharapova were household names and Li Na had become an international icon.

In 2014, the last WTA Final Serena competed in, the looks were a mix-bag of after five and evening wear attire.

The photoshoot used to be produced in house. In the last two years, the WTA has worked with creative agencies to transform the traditional portrait shot into a high-fashion production. This year, the WTA worked with Shay Johnson Studio as the creative and production studio for the shoot, renowned documentary photographer Yumna Al-Arashi and Becky Akinyode, an editorial stylist whose work has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar.

The creative team offered players guidance. However, the athletes were free to work with brands and designers with whom they have existing partnerships. After all, today’s WTA stars dominate the Forbes list of the highest-paid female athletes and are CEOs managing their endorsements and business ventures.

“This year more than ever, tennis is at the heart of culture with a distinctive style and a generation of players connecting with fans around the world,” said Storti. “This shoot embodies our vision to rally the world, and gives our players the platform to lead the way.”

Swiatek has already earned more career prize money than Venus. In April, Gauff left Roger Federer’s Team8 management firm to launch her own firm, Coco Gauff Enterprises. Sabalenka has an equity stake in IM8, a nutritional supplement company.

The most marketable player, Gauff, wore a dress custom-designed by Miu Miu, a brand that collaborates with her athletic apparel sponsor New Balance. Aryna Sabalenka wore an Audemars Piguet watch and a red cape dress by Alberta Ferretti. Madison Keys donned Brilliant Earth jewelry. Swiatek worked with Lurline, a Saudi Arabian luxury fashion brand founded by two sisters, Sarah and Siham Albinali. Paolini wore a dress by Brunello Cucinelli. Paolini has no official partnership with Cucinelli, but prefers wearing the Italian designer.

“It was nice to see everyone dressed up in different fashions and styles, and it’s always fun to get glammed up,” said Gauff, in an interview with WTA staff. “We go all year, tournament to tournament, in sweats and workout gear. This was an opportunity to showcase our personalities and our style, and be showcased in a different light as a whole.”