Timely boost for LTA as Aegon extends deal

The Lawn Tennis Association needed some good news after a French Open without a British victory in the men’s or women’s singles and it arrived today with a major sponsorship deal. Aegon, the financial services company which has been the LTA’s “lead partner” since 2008, has renewed its agreement for the next four years.

The initial deal with Aegon, which was believed to be worth more than £25million over five years, was regarded as a major coup. The extension of the partnership, particularly in the light of the current economic climate and the difficulties within the financial services sector, is a significant boost for the LTA, who have so often been the butt of criticism.

In recent times, much of the fire has been directed at the governing body’s chief executive, Roger Draper, who is leaving the organisation later this summer. While the LTA’s continuing struggle to encourage more people to play the sport has been a blight on his regime, Draper will be happy to have left a significant financial legacy.

“Aegon has been a crucial partner in our on-going work to transform British tennis, so I am delighted it continues to share our vision for the sport,” Draper said. “This commitment demonstrates it also shares our excitement about the future of our sport.”

Under the new deal, Aegon will continue as title sponsor of the grass-court tournaments at Queen’s Club, which is staging the Aegon Championships, at Edgbaston, where the Aegon Classic is taking place this week, and the Aegon International, which will be held at Eastbourne next week.

All three tournaments have been performing well commercially. Queen’s continues to sell out every year, Eastbourne has reported a 33 per cent improvement on ticket sales compared with 12 months ago and Edgbaston is up by 13.5 per cent.