When Pilot Pen Tennis signed 17-year-old Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova back in January to play in its tennis tournament, it knew it had caught a rising star.
Now, thanks to Sharapova’s win at Wimbledon, the sport’s grandest stage, Worcester has tennis’s “it” girl, and star-power it can use to promote the seventh Pilot Pen Tennis Presented by Michelob ULTRA tournament.
“We all feel like we hit the lottery,” said tournament director Anne Worcester. Sharapova, who was ranked 32nd in the world when she signed with Pilot Pen and is now ranked eighth. “There is no better platform than Wimbledon. We knew she had the raw talent, but that’s an intimidating place for a 17-year-old to be, and nothing intimidated her.”
Sharapova was in New Haven, CT, Tuesday, where the Pilot Pen will be played Aug. 20-28, for the tournament’s promotional street clinic. She also unveiled the creative Pilot Pen will use for its Maria Mania campaign to promote the tournament. It is the first time the tournament has focused solely on one player in its marketing campaign.
“We made the decision that if she won in the [Wimbledon] quarterfinals, we’d go with an integrated campaign with Maria as the centerpiece,” Worcester said, noting that the campaign will be used in print, outdoor and Internet advertising, as well as radio copy. Maria Mania pins and t-shirts were also given out at the street clinic, which she signed on to appear in back in April, when she was ranked 22nd in the world.
Worcester added that Sharapova shows more maturity and dedication than a typical girl her age would. She thanked Sharapova for showing up despite winning Wimbledon three days earlier, and Sharapova thanked her for believing in her.
Sharapova also had an added surprise for Worcester. She announced she would also compete in doubles during the tournament with fellow Russian teen Maria Kirilenko.
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