Outstanding 2012 Drives Momentum for Wilson Tennis Athlete and New Technology Success for 2013 Australian Open

Coming off an exceptional 2012 on tour and a year with considerable growth in Wilson’s business and brand position, Wilson Tennis (www.wilsontennis.com) is in top form for the Australian Open with defending women’s champion Victoria Azarenka, Wilson-career player Roger Federer and 2012 US Open winner Serena Williams, fresh off her title at the Brisbane International Tournament. With the introduction of new Blade™ rackets, along with the new Steam and top selling Juice® and Pro Staff® rackets, Wilson is positioned well to continue its growth in 2013.

“Our athletes had an incredible 2012,” said Jon Muir, general manager of Wilson Racquet Sports. “Combined with very strong business results, we have fantastic momentum heading into 2013 and the Australian Open. We developed an amazing pipeline of new products that drove our growth in 2012 and our player’s success on tour with these same products further fueled our development. We are looking forward to seeing some of our new technologies and new head to toe softgoods collections help our player’s success for the Australian Open and throughout 2013.”

Serena Williams continues her success with Wilson’s new Blade racket for 2013, winning the 2013 Brisbane event, which marks her 47^th career title and extends her dominant performances to 35 wins in her last 36 matches.  Wilson tour players produced other milestones at Brisbane: Grigor Dimitrov broke through to the finals with the Pro Staff; and Kei Nishikori reached the semis playing with the Steam.

Heading into 2013, Wilson has also signed French player Gael Monfils, who has switched to Wilson’s new Blade racket along with Russian Vera Zvonareva, winner of last year’s Australian Open’s women’s doubles title, playing with the new Steam 99.   Along with Wilson’s new Blade and Steam racket ranges, Wilson’s head to toe players will be using the new Rush Pro shoe and wearing our spring season apparel collection.

Serena Williams Named WTA Player of the Year

She’s done it again…for the fourth time, to be exact. After extraordinary tennis play in 2012 including wins at Wimbledon, the US Open and the WTA Championships in Istanbul, Serena Williams has been named WTA’s Player of the Year.

Playing with her Wilson Blade Team BLX tennis racket, “Serena Williams put together one of the greatest seven months in the history of women’s tennis from April to October this year, winning two Grand Slam titles, Olympic gold and 48 of 50 matches” says the WTA of Williams’ 2012 season.

From the entire Wilson crew, we’d like to issue a a warm congratulations to Serena on the award and we look forward to watching her dominate 2013!

Win Serena Williams Posters

Serena Williams has had an amazing 2012, no matter how you slice it. To celebrate her huge year and recent WTA Championships title, we’re giving you a chance to get your hands on two jumbo posters from her 2012 wins at Wimbledon & The US Open. The giveaway starts this Tuesday, October 30th at 9am via Wilson’s Twitter and entry is simple. Just follow @wilsontennis on Twitter and tweet “@wilsontennis I wanna win @serenawilliams #tennis posters”. The giveaway runs until midnight on October 31st. Good luck and happy tweeting.

(See below for rules and legal mumbo jumbo.)

Terms & Conditions

Official Rules for the Win Serena Posters Giveaway

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

1. Eligibility: The Win Serena Posters Giveaway (the “Promotion”) is open only to individuals who are legal residents of the United States and are at least thirteen (13) years of age or the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence, whichever is older. Employees, officers, directors, and agents of Wilson Sporting Goods Co., its affiliates or subsidiaries or other companies associated with the Promotion, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employee, are not eligible to enter. Each prize winner is only eligible to win one prize during the Promotion.  Subsequent entries by a prize winner will be disqualified.

Believe in Hope

Hey there,

Well, it seems more and more difficult to try and make time in the schedule for everything, but I really do enjoy this part and want to try and keep things up to date….I find it rather therapeutic when there is so much going on, think this helps me try to keep perspective….

In the past couple of days, there have been very heavy things going on….It’s with a heavy heart that I write this entry….. as I just found out that two people from Kiwi, where I used to teach, recently passed away. RIP Wendell and Diane, you will definitely be missed…………On top of that, we must keep a very close Wilson family member in our prayers at this time…

Please understand this is by no intention to get preachy… just a bit reflective at this moment, but….Life really teaches us daily…. And right now, WE ALL MUST BELIEVE IN HOPE.

As you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month… what you may not know is that Wilson has donated over 2 MILLION dollars to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. And Wilson’s support of BCRF goes beyond October. Wilson will make the annual donation of $100,000 this year and will make an additional donation to BCRF through the purchase of Wilson HOPE products.

Through the month, you will see our ATP & WTA players showing their support for BCRF during Breast Cancer Awareness month by wearing PINK HOPE wristbands using HOPE vibrasorbs and HOPE bags through the month. (Look out for a sneak peak of a 2013 HOPE bag on our Wilson Exclusive ladies)

An interesting fact, breast cancer is second leading cause of cancer deaths in women…clearly this is an important and worthy cause, so PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT….GO PINK and BELIEVE IN HOPE!!!

Hope is such a great message for Breast Cancer Awareness month and beyond… And so for this entry, I leave you with a few of my favorite hope quotes and ask that you share this message of hope.

Thank you

Until later,

Tracy

Hope itself is like a star- not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity – Charles H Spurgeon

Once you choose hope anything is possible – Christopher Reeve

Walk with hope in your heart and you shall never walk alone- Shah Rukh Khan

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer – Romans 12:12

Congrats to 2012 US Open Women’s Singles Champion Serena Williams

Like a forehand, low to high!!

Vika Azarenka w/ Juice vs. Serena Williams w/ Blade for the US Open title

So two days ago after feeling quite a low, and now a high…I’mmmmmmm baaaaaccckkk!! LOL

It was a great day for the Wilson team as Victoria Azarenka fought back to defeat Sharapova and Serena Williams took care of business with a straight set win against Errani to make it an all Wilson US Open Women’s final.

Vika was super impressive as Sharapova has been playing well all tournament, so to fight tooth and nail like that was awesome. Just shows where WILL and DESIRE can get you. After a long day on the court, Vika was nice enough to meet up with the winner of the Twitter contest Kylene Murray and her daughter Aya.
4 year old Aya might be the cutest kid I’ve ever seen and was so excited to meet Vika…she was very clear that “It’s not VIKA, it’s VICTORIA!” So I was wrong, again… LOL To meet your first pro tennis player is always a treat for any aspiring player. For Aya to have the opportunity to meet and give Victoria a hug after a BIG semifinals win at a GRAND SLAM, get to go to the players lounge and run into Redfoo from LMFAO, well doesn’t get much better than that!!! Aya had a present for Victoria too, her gold medal that she won… very sweet!! There is nothing better than seeing a kid be psyched on tennis and just be a happy kid… makes all of it worth it!

Clearly the tournament is not over for team Wilson, we press on… and now it’s raining.. so it looks like another long day. Luckily for Robin and I, it is raining cause it gives us more time to prepare for whomever potentially wins the final. We have a couple of surprises lined up.. let’s hope we can get it done in time…
Good news is Robin and I have not killed each other YET…. we are almost there!! LOL I haven’t spent this much time consecutively with anyone outside my family and my first boyfriend… kinda wanted to keep it that way, but what we do for the brand!! haha All joking aside, Robin has done some great work these past few weeks and we just have 3-4 more things to finish off….glad to have him on the team.

Other than that, the best part of being in NY is getting to spend time with my Mom and my sister. As some of you may know, my sister Trina works for the USTA in Communications, so I get to see her in our ‘drive by’ hello moments between meetings and our work obligations. Trina was a great junior player and came back to the game in her business life and is doing some super fun things for the USTA. If you see the pieces with the chefs like Morimoto, David Burke & Chicago chef Tony Mantuano, that’s her thing… yeah, the foodie obsession runs in the family!! Totally jealous of that project for sure!!

Anyway, just a couple more days left…. better get back to work!

Until later,

Tracy

Victoria Azarenka meets Twitter contest winners the Murray family. Check out little 4 year old Aya with Wilson junior tennis outfit and her junior Juice!

Tracy Almeda-Singian and Trina Singian

 

Behind, Behind the Scenes

Hello there,

Well, it’s been a few days and I have to say my discipline level with the blog might be at it’s lowest point in a long time. It’s been a long few weeks, a very productive few weeks, but filled with tons of emotion.  I can’t really get into depth right now, because quite frankly, I don’t want to start crying…. the last 24 hrs have been brutal….seeing friend and GREAT CHAMPION Andy Roddick play his last ball at US Open (more on that at a later date), Roger Federer takes a tough loss, my Giants losing to the Cowboys and the anniversary of my dad’s death nearing…. well, I am just a mess and my head is the furthest thing from clear…..

The point to me sharing this? Well, I have to say at this time, this is when I am thankful we have a kick a** team that we can count on when my brain is scrambled eggs…. I get to write, do videos and be rather public about my love for tennis, the Wilson team and everything we do….but there are the people who are BEHIND, BEHIND the Scenes that really make us tick.
Jeff, Heather, Greg, Stephen, David and Tim from our creative services team makes the stuff you see on our website, our web banners,  our print ads, Facebook covers and the Grand Slam posters/ wallpapers that everyone loves… and of course our racket cosmetics! Someone’s gotta make us look good!!!   Renaud, Jacob, Mario, Clement and Dianne from our Tour team makes sure that it gets to the players and shows the players to get their input and thumbs up. Bill, Bob, Ron, Joel, Brad, Bobby and our entire R & D Team who make the rackets so kick a** that almost 500 Grand Slams have been won with a Wilson racket. MORE SLAM titles than any other brand! Our product crew John, Evan, Chris R, Caroline and Chris K who make sure we have the best stuff available to you….and this doesn’t even include our marketing team and the great teams we have across the globe with Team EMEA, APAC and Latin America and our outside peeps who are definitely part of the brand …Honestly, I cannot name everyone who takes a part in making us cool as s**t but definitely want to recognize……. All the hard-work does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. You guys rock! Thank you TEAM WILSON!!!

Sooooo what you guys may not know is that when we have players go deep into the tournament, we work on getting everything ready to celebrate well prior to it actually happening. Special thanks to Jeff and his team and to Dianne for holding it down late night to make sure we are going to be ready for whatever may occur. ROCKSTARS!

Now it’s time to cross our fingers, root on Serena and Vika… and just wait and see if we have an all Wilson Women’s final! GO TEAM!

And Congrats to 2012 US Open Mixed Doubles Champions Wilson players Bruno Soares and Ekaterina Makarova!! Well done!

Until later,

Tracy

PS The video above is yet another example of the commitment of our team’s commitment. Go Inside the Stringing Room… a unique take of course!

Ekaterina Makarove and Bruno Soares celebrate!!

Rock it out!!

Jacob Martin, Milos Raonic and Mario Vergara

Hey there,

Well it’s Friday, last day of qualies, and it feels like I have already been here an eternity and the main draw hasn’t even started yet!!
Maybe it’s a hangover still left from last years US Open?! LOL

The last couple of days have been super productive, we have been working on things to show just how much Wilson is involved in the US Open. Wilson and the USTA have been great partners for over 30 years… we have been the Official Ball for 34 years and we are also the Official Stringer for the tournament. We also run a store on site that is located in Armstrong. One thing you may not know is that almost everyone that works in Wilson HQ in Chicago works the Wilson store. It is our opportunity to make sure we connect with the tennis fans/players and get feedback so we always can improve and make the best products possible. It’s uber hardwork for 3 weeks, but everyone is awesome at it!! Come say hello!!

Being in NY always has a certain amount of energy that no other city in the world has and the US Open brings the best out of the city in a time of the year. Most people are normally in the Hamptons chillin, but everyone comes back to see the best tennis players rock it out in Flushing!!!

Players have pretty much arrived: Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Victoria Azarenka, Mardy Fish, Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic, Philipp Kohlschreiber, have all been on site practicing and doing their sponsor commitment events in the city.

Last night was nice for me as I managed to have dinner with my Mom and my uncle who live here in NY and on my way back to the hotel, I ran into Andrea Petkovic!!! Andrea was on her way back to her hotel from the Taste of Tennis which is a fun foodie event. I know I said this in a blog prior, but I’m just really happy to see her back on tour, she is such a good person for the WTA as she is not afraid to show her personality, ham it up a bit when needed and just all in all have fun and enjoy it!! She is a ROCKSTAR and it’s GREAT to have her back.

Anyway, Robin and I are at the hotel now, editing video and making sure we have stuff ready for next week.  Later today we will shoot stuff for our HOPE campaign (more to come on that) and we will be going to MSG for a special announcement later this evening.

Until later,

Tracy

Wilson Stringing Room at US Open. Beats by Dre a necessity when stringing Serena Williams’ Wilson Blade Team tennis racket!
Photo courtesy of Robin Fenlon

 

 

 

Congrats to all our players on a great 2012 Olympic games!

Embodying the best that tennis has to offer, Wilson players won eight Olympic medals in London, more than any other racket brand. Hallmark victories included: a gold for Serena Williams with her Wilson Blade Team; a silver from Roger Federer, 17-time Grand Slam champion in the men’s final, using his Pro Staff 90; and a gold for Serena and Venus Williams in the women’s doubles. In addition, world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka earned a historic bronze for Belarus, and Juan Martin Del Potro secured a bronze for Argentina. 

 

“We are proud of all of our players who competed in London,” said Jon Muir, general manager, Wilson Racquet Sports.  “To see such outstanding performances and medal-winning achievements is something that we all celebrate for our players.”

 

Williams won her first individual Olympic gold in top form after winning her fifth Wimbledon title on the same court four weeks earlier. Losing only 17 games in her six matches, the 14-time Grand Slam singles champion shares the tennis record of four Olympic golds with her sister, Venus. In windy conditions, Williams dominated Maria Sharapova with big serves from the baseline to defeat her 6-0, 6-1 and become the second woman ever to win a Golden Slam.

 

“This win means so much to me because it’s my first individual gold medal and I’ve worked incredibly hard for it,” said Williams. “Grand Slam wins feel amazing but winning in the Olympics is another feat completely.”

 

Williams joined her sister Venus to secure gold again for the U.S. in women’s doubles. They defeated Wilson player Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic who took the silver medal. Serena is the first player in history to achieve a Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.

 

Victoria Azarenka, playing with the Juice 100, became the first medal winner for Belarus in Olympic tennis history. In mixed doubles, Wilson players Azarenka and Max Mirnyi clinched the gold medal. Next generation Wilson player Laura Robson teamed with Andy Murray to win silver.

Wilson Team Goes for Gold!!!

Wilson is proud to have so many great athletes participate in this years games in London! COME ON!!

 

Wilson players competing in London.