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Infront, an international sports marketing and media agency, was selected to bid for the ITF’s global betting and data streaming rights. The RFP began in 2023, and a number bidders submitted detailed proposals.
This deal will begin in 2025 and encompass a number ITF-produced events, marking an important step in Infront’s development of its data business.
The five-year contract will enhance the fan experience by providing rich data and metrics. It will also create new commercial opportunities, and help develop compelling data stories about ITF events.
Infront will provide more than 650 handhelds to be transported all over the world in accordance with the ITF’s competition calendar.
The partnership will result in a significant financial boost for the ITF. It will allow for increased funding to global tennis development, and continue investment in the competitive path, which has seen record prizes for women for two years in a row across the ITF World Tennis Tour.
In preparation for a new rights cycle, the parties will work together to finalise and agree on contractual terms.
Kelly Fairweather said, “Bringing matches to life through live scoring and stream is crucial to the growth of our game, and essential for integrity. Infront has been appointed as our Official Data partner from 2025-2029.
“Tennis Fans are at the heart of what we do here at the ITF, and the new partnership will allow us to offer a better experience from beginning to end for all fans. The ITF will see innovation on the court, and we will benefit from a substantial financial boost. We will use these rights to support the player path and the global development of tennis.
I would like to thank all the bidders that participated in this competitive bidding process. “I would like to thank Sportradar for all they have done for us for more than a decade. We look forward to working with them for the remainder of our partnership until the end of 2024.”
Chris Catling said, “This partnership will be monumental for Infront.” We have been working hard to expand our operations, especially what we can provide our customers in terms of data.
The Lab will be key in driving technology innovation. The ITF is an Olympic federation. This agreement is a testament to the efforts we have made. We look forward to working with them and implementing our innovative ideas to help elevate the growth and development of tennis.
The ITF’s plan for long-term growth, “ITF2024” is another outcome of the new contract. The strategy, which was introduced in 2013, has been instrumental in generating a substantial improvement in the ITF’s financial performance. It also enabled the ITF to fund the game at record levels. Since 2015, the ITF has increased its reinvestment into tennis by 95.4% (or $41.5 million) to $85.0 millions.
