Sports India

Indian tennis superstar Sania Mirza clicked her first brand endorsement deal for three years with the major sports apparel and footwear player Lotto Sport Italia.

This deal was confirmed by Sunil Taneja Managing Director, Sierra Industrial Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. representing Lotto in India.

Taneja said, “Lotto has a long-standing relationship with the game of tennis. Right from Boris Becker to Martina Navratilova - all have endorsed Lotto and now Sania Mirza will be our brand ambassador.”

The rising lass from Hyderabad will be used by Lotto in print, outdoor and below-the-line advertising but her appearance in TV ads is yet to be confirmed.

Confirming the development, Anirban Das Blah, Vice President (Sales & Marketing), Globosport, the company managing Sania said, “What worked in favour of Lotto was bringing in a lot of international attitude of Lotto to India.

“Sania will have a special Signature Line with Lotto that not many international tennis stars have,” Anirban Das Blah, Vice President (Sales & Marketing), Globosport the company managing Sania Mirza, said.

Under the company’s slogan “Passion to Perform", Lotto will use Sania in on-ground promotion of tennis.

The company hopes to capture 10 percent of the sports footwear and apparel market within next three year as the market size of this segment stands at Rs 750 crore.

Teenage tennis sensation Sania Mirza today signed up a deal to be brand ambassador of a Kerala-based jewellery outlet and said a few more endorsement deals are in pipeline.

“I have signed up to be the brand ambassador of Malabar gold. This is my second endorsement deal after Lotto (Italian sportswear company). A few more are in the pipeline,” she said.

However, she refused to give any details of the financial terms and conditions of the deal that she has signed.

“I have been spending Rs 25-30 lakh annually over the last few years for my tennis,” she added.

Admitting that clay is not her favourite surface, tennis sensation Sania Mirza has said that she will play some tournaments on clay before the French Open.

“Clay is not my favourite surface but I will be playing some tournaments so that I will be in perfect shape for the French Open,” Sania told reporters here on the sidelines of a function. “As far as playing on grass is concerned I have won Junior Wimbledon (doubles) title and I think that will not be a major problem. She said that she was working on her aim to be in top 50 WTA rankings by year end.

On her ankle which she twisted in the recent Dubai Open, Sania said “My ankle is not that bad as I thought. I have been advised some rest but I think it will be fine and I might start playing again within a week.”

About tournaments in which she will be participating, Sania, currently ranked 77th in the world following her quarterfinal appearance in the quarterfinal of the Dubai Open, said she will be playing at Miami later this month and will go to France to play some tournaments before tuning up for the Federartion Cup in Delhi.

On her high-profile match with former World No 1 Serena Williams in the third round of Australian Open, Sania said, “I felt a bit nervous before entering the court which is natural for an youngster who is facing player of Serena’s calibre. But as the match progressed, I became more confident.”

If there is an Indian equivalent of Tiger Woods, Michael Schumacher… it is HER, it is HER, it is HER. Sunday was when the first of her $$$$ deals was announced. And that’s just the tip of the niceberg. Attention cricketers: With 30-plus endorsement offers in 1.5 months flat, it’s all about Sania ‘Yin-dia’ Mirza’s brand monies, honeys. Delhi Times presents the Goddess of BIG things…

* Till January 15, 2005 : Ranked 132, no predictions. Endorses GVK Industries, Atlas Cycles, Tata Tea, Sahara, SAI. January 16-21: Reaches 3rd round of Australian Open, predicts top 100 rank by 2005. BIG deals beckon.

* Till Feb 6, 2005 : 2 of 5 existing endorsements reaching termination, ranking is 97. February 12: Wins WTA Hyderabad Open, ranking shoots to 81, predicts breaking into top 50 by 2005. BIGGER deals in offer stage.

* Till February 28, 2005 : Sports major negotiates. March 1, 2005: Wins against US Open winner Svetlana Kuzetsnova in Dubai Open, ranking shoots into top 75, predictions put her in top 25 by 2005. Italian sports major, an MNC, domestic biggie (guestimates) finalise BIGGEST deals ever by an Indian tennis player. Fourth company in the final stages of signing deal.

Ad-vantage Sania

“Now, Sania is at par with Dravid, Ganguly, Aamir without matching Sachin, Bachchan, Shah Rukh. She personifies the ‘new India’ – someone with the confidence and desire to excel. She is not transitory like actresses. Sania is ‘real’, Sania is a youth icon. In ad terms, she has the performance connect plus the personality connect.”
– Anirban Das, vice-president, Globosport, the firm that negotiates Sania’s endorsements

Crunchy Numbers

* Rs 1 crore: Estimated value of contracts with 3 existing sponsors.
* Rs 8 crore: Value of per-deal contracts with 4 new sponsors (Based on Ganguly, Dravid drawing around Rs 2 crore per deal).
* Rs 9 crore: Approx total equity now.

You are my Sania

Court Unquote

A gaggle of faces. Blink, and you don’t even miss them. And then there’s HER. She’s in Dubai. She has a match in a few hours. She’s just back from a function she didn’t have the heart to say no to. She has an ankle that hurts like hell. Dial her number, and she picks up. You ask, she answers. Iconic player? Cliched. She’s a symbol of hope. Ladies & gentlemen, meet Sania Mirza. And read her, in her own words…

“It’s not as if I was doing something wrong earlier, and I’m doing something right now that I’m shooting up the rankings. Hard work has gone into this… it’s all coming together now. Yes, I’m in what they call the zone… as of now, I don’t know what it is to lose… I don’t even want to know. My ankle is healing, but it hurts sometimes. My ankle does hurt during matches… and then, somehow, God knows how, I’m not thinking of my ankle… anything… I’m just playing. I hope to crack the rankings further this year. Endorsements are okay but I won’t be endorsing everything. I’ll only do stuff I’m comfortable with. And I’ll only do stuff for which I have the time. My priority is tennis. Mantra? Focus. Enjoy the game. Then, you have nothing to lose.”
* “There’s something about Sania, including her tennis talent because of which we sponsor her travelling expenses.”
– Sudha Vasant, GVK Industries

* ‘"Her talent apart, there’s the emotional quotient and something about her as a human because of which we sponsor her.”
– Satyen Bakri, Sahara

* “With Sania winning the Hyderabad Open WTA, we’ll be promoting upcoming Indian stars in tennis.”
– Luca Tomat, CEO, Italian sports major

Deuce & Don’ts

“Sania has received 30-plus endorsement offers recently of which just 4 have been finalised. She won’t do frivolous ads. She won’t endorse hair oil and face lotion. She will endorse what goes with her image. She won’t have the time for too many days of shooting. Big cricketers devote between 60-70 days a year for shooting. We’re looking at half that figure for Sania.” – Anirban Das

Miss Marketable

“In 2 years, we’re not even looking at an Indian matrix – Sania will overtake the Williams sisters in terms of endorsements.”
– Anirban Das

Annual income of the Sisters Williams:
Venus: Rs 61.88 crore, Serena: Rs 34.1 crore.
(All figures approx)

Worth Rs 61 crore by 2007?
Meet $ania Mirza.