Inside the room where the WTA and Mercedes-Benz begin a new chapter

Andrea Petkovic didn’t bother warming up. She walked onstage at the Mercedes-Benz Museum on Wednesday and immediately gave the WTA’s landmark event the kind of dry, side-eyed humor that has followed her around the tour for years. Within minutes she was ad-libbing, poking fun at the formalities, and even playfully stumbling over Roger Federer’s name as she called out to him in the audience.

The room loosened instantly. What began as a lighthearted moment quickly set the day’s rhythm, opening the door to a broader conversation about purpose, history and what this new alignment could mean for women’s tennis.

Ambition shared across both sides of the table

At the center of the event was the WTA’s announcement that Mercedes-Benz will become the Tour's Premier Partner starting in 2026, a multi-year commitment covering about 30 tournaments in its first season.

Mercedes-Benz executive Mathias Geisen outlined the vision behind the deal, speaking with a genuine enthusiasm that felt rooted in the sport as much as the brand.

“Tennis is really fascinating,” he said, noting the athletes’ discipline and drive.

He described the partnership as an opportunity to “lift it to new heights,” underscoring the company’s aspirations in elevating the fan and player experiences across the calendar.

On the WTA side, the alignment was immediate.

“For us to partner with a brand that is generally iconic and trusted, WTA Ventures CEO Marina Storti said. "These are values that we share deeply.” 

She pointed to the “extraordinary commercial momentum” behind women’s tennis and a shared goal of expanding reach, investment and visibility for players and fans alike.

Coco Gauff, joining remotely ahead of offseason training, stepped in with a perspective drawn from her own experience on tour.

“Mercedes-Benz and WTA partnering together are proving that the dreams of young girls in sports are worth investing in,” she said.

Her next line captured the personal significance of the partnership: “To invest in someone like me, a woman of color, is super inspiring.”

A partnership grounded in history

While the conversation focused on the future, history surfaced repeatedly. Geisen noted that Mercedes-Benz will celebrate its 140th anniversary next year, nearly overlapping with the birth of modern tennis.

Billie Jean King, sitting in the audience, immediately picked up the thread: “Karl Benz [the engineer behind the first automobile] -- I think it’s 1886. And then guess who Mercedes is? His daughter.”

It was a quick aside, but it landed with the neat symmetry the moment seemed to invite.

King then widened the lens.

“The dream was that any girl born in this world, if she were good enough, would have a place to compete,” she said, recalling the founding purpose of the WTA. She underscored the progress -- and the work -- behind that dream, noting that early players fought not only for opportunity, but for recognition and the ability to earn a sustainable living.

Federer added his own sense of continuity, reflecting on how the WTA’s influence had shaped his understanding of the sport long before he entered the room in Stuttgart. He spoke directly to King, acknowledging how her work “always resonated in a major way” for him and how much he valued the history that paved the way for his own career. He also pointed to the personal ties that kept the women’s game close -- his wife, Mirka, spent years on tour, and his daughters now play as well.

When the conversation turned to Mercedes-Benz, Federer offered another thread of connection. He recalled seeing the brand’s star on nets and tournament cars early in his career. “I felt good,” he said with a grin. “That’s kind of our home away from home as we travel so much around the globe.”

Together, these moments helped frame the new partnership, a milestone shaped by decades of work.

Responsibility at the heart of the moment

Responsibility surfaced throughout the discussion -- sometimes directly, and sometimes between the lines. King articulated it most clearly.

“We need the players [to] understand what they have,” she said. “It’s so important to support, and do their interviews, and do all the things you’re supposed to do … to help the game grow.” 

Mercedes-Benz framed responsibility in terms of influence. “Sport … is really about connecting people,” said Christina Schenck, Vice President Digital & Communications and Head of Investor Relations. Schenck emphasized the chance to highlight role models and inspire younger athletes. She spoke of elevating the stories and personalities that bring depth to the tour.

Valerie Camillo, the newly appointed WTA Chair, built on that idea, noting that Mercedes’ longstanding mantra -- the best or nothing -- aligned naturally with the WTA’s foundation.

“That’s the same values that Billie had in mind with the Original 9,” she said, pointing to the shared expectations that underpin the partnership.

A day defined by its human moments

The event often felt most alive in the unscripted moments between the formal remarks. Petkovic slipped in a string of off-script remarks, Geisen poked fun at himself as “an incredibly bad tennis player,” Gauff joked about warm-ups and Federer laughed when Petkovic called his name and pulled him into the moment. Even King paused to admire the comfort and design of the cars she’d been riding in over the past couple of days. 

Those small detours gave the room its looseness and made the exchange feel more like a shared conversation than a staged announcement. The back and forth also showed why the partnership resonated on both sides. Mercedes-Benz spoke about role models, visibility and long-term investment; the WTA emphasized opportunity, reach and the history that shaped the tour.

Petkovic ended on a clean final note: “A beautiful partnership, a new journey on the path of women’s tennis.”