LONDON: Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has penned a multi-year deal with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to become the “Global Innovation and Entertainment Partner” and “Global Presenting Partner” for the Davis Cup in 2019 and 2020.
Under the terms of the agreement, the competition will be renamed the Davis Cup by Rakuten. The partnership agreement links the Davis Cup and Rakuten until 2020, with the option of a further two-year extension. Rakuten will have high visibility in the finals and qualifiers.
It is pertinent to note that the CEO of Rakuten, Hiroshi Mickey Mikitani, is one of Gerald Piqué’s big-money partners in Kosmos, which now holds the commercial rights for the 119-year-old men’s tennis competition.
Mikitani said: “By becoming the global partner of the Davis Cup, Rakuten has taken another important step forward in our mission to inspire and empower people across the globe. We are firm believers in the power of sport to bring people and communities together, and to inspire optimism and innovation.”
David Haggerty, ITF president, said: “We are delighted to welcome Rakuten as Global Presenting and Global Innovation and Entertainment partner. The Davis Cup has always been about maintaining tradition while embracing innovation. Adopting new technologies for the Davis Cup is allowing us to enter exciting new partnerships, and we look forward to working with Rakuten to reach a global audience in new and diverse ways.”
Javier Alonso, CEO Kosmos Tennis, said: “Having Rakuten as the main sponsor of the event is great news for the Davis Cup, the World Cup of Tennis. Innovation and entertainment is key both Rakuten and Kosmos. We are excited about working together to create new engagement formulas of interaction with the fans both inside and outside of Caja Mágica in order to improve their experience with the Davis Cup Qualifiers and the Madrid Finals.”
Tickets on sale now
Tickets for the Davis Cup Madrid Finals, which will be held from 18-24 November at Caja Mágica in Madrid, are on sale now via the official website. Tickets start from €25 and special rates for children are also included.
The 18 teams competing for the chance to become world champion and lift the Davis Cup trophy are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Russia, Serbia, Spain and USA.
