Wilson Releases Limited Edition Roger Federer Racket Bag

06/16/08 - Chicago--Just in time for Wimbledon, Wilson Sporting Goods Co. is releasing a limited edition Roger Federer Super Six racket bag.

As Federer steps on the court to win his 13th Grand Slam and 6th Wimbledon title, he will be supported by a Wilson limited edition racket bag. Federer will carry this rare memento of his Grand Slam career for his first 2008 Wimbledon match, at 2:00pm on June 23rd.

This limited edition Super Six bag is made from high quality materials and will be produced in limited quantity. It provides Thermoguard™ and Moistureguard™ compartments to protect your rackets from the elements on and off the court. Thermoguard™ is a patented technology which helps to insure string performance. The design of the bag incorporates the traditional Wimbledon white and Wilson red. It also features aspects of Federer's origins with elements of the Swiss flag along the edge of the bag. This year's bag includes several embroidered components including Roger's signature as well as the Wilson script logo. This limited edition bag will begin shipment this week and will be carried by Federer through the 2008 US Open.

via Tenniswire

Wilson Thanks Justine Henin for Her Dedication and Success

First adidas, now Wilson - Henin's top sponsors say their piece regarding the retiring champion:

Top Wilson athlete, Justine Henin announced her retirement from the game of tennis and went out on top as not many can-- #1 in the world. On Wednesday, as Henin's abrupt departure suprised the tennis world, it only left an appropriate moment to reflect on a player who has no doubt left a mark in the history of tennis. Henin leaves with an exceptional record including 493 wins in her 10 year professional career, and 41 titles. There have been 7 Grand Slam wins: Australian Open in 2004, French Open in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and the US Open in 2003, 2007.

Continue reading: "Wilson Thanks Justine Henin for Her Dedication and Success"

Wilson Grows #1 Market Share in 2007

05/08/08 - Wilson Racquet Sports has continued to grow its market share in 2007 to continue its leadership as the clear #1 racket brand.

According to the latest year to date (SMS) survey, Wilson's market share has increased to over a 31% unit share of performance rackets in 2007 with 7 of the Top 12 selling rackets ytd 2007 in dollar sales as well. In addition, SMS shows that Wilson continues to lead in the following areas for 2007:

• #1 in Unit Sales
• #1 in Unit Share
• #1 in Dollar Sales
• #1 in Dollar Share

In addition, Wilson's [K]Six.One 95 is the #1 selling new racket for combined head sizes, that began shipping in 2007. Wilson also had 4 of the Top 7 "Hot New Rackets," a notable distinction, as this list measures the impact of new models that have only been shipping over the last 12 months. While these numbers are a testament to how [K]Factor has greatly impacted Wilson's strong growth, the numbers also speak to the ongoing strength of nCode, with Wilson now having a 36.9% unit market share in rackets selling between $100 - $149, where nCode is primarily positioned.

Wilson is also the #1 tennis brand globally in market share, with Europe and Asia also reflecting strong growth behind [K]Factor. In Japan, the second largest tennis market behind the USA, Wilson is also #1 in share in both units and dollars, and the
[K]Six.One 95 is the top selling racket to date for 2007. (Yano data, Jan/Feb. 2007).

Wilson Racquet Sports is a division of Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods, one of the world's leading manufacturers of sports equipment and owned by Amer Sports. Wilson designs, manufactures and distributes sporting goods throughout the world and focuses on making technologically advanced products which help players of all levels perform better. Wilson's core sport categories include: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Volleyball, Soccer, Youth Sports, Uniforms/Apparel, Golf, Footwear and Racquet Sports (Tennis, Racquetball, Squash, Badminton and Platform Tennis). For more information, visit www.wilson.com.

Wilson Continues to Lead Industry as the #1 Racket Brand

05/02/08 - Chicago - Wilson increased their market share lead in First Quarter 2008 compared to year end as the #1 racquet brand according to the Sports Marketing Surveys first quarter 2008 results just released.

According to the first quarter sell-thru results, Wilson has 4 of the top 7 "Best Selling" rackets (in YTD dollars), including Wilson's new [K] Blade which is now one of the top ranked sellers of all rackets in the market. Beyond having 4 of top 7 sellers in the market, Wilson is once again the clear #1 selling brand in both units and dollars. The data above are based on the First Quarter 2008 Sports Marketing Surveys/TIA audit of retail sales at tennis specialty stores.

Continue reading: "Wilson Continues to Lead Industry as the #1 Racket Brand"

Nishikori Adds Sony to Endorsement Portfolio

18-year old Kei Nishikori (the youngest in the top 100) just signed a 3-year deal with Sony. A big, non-traditional tennis endorsement for sure. But Sonyis betting that this solid, young, photogenic player is good enough to be around for awhile, this is likely to be a good invesment.

From their press release:

IMG today announced that professional tennis player Kei Nishikori has signed a three-year global sponsorship agreement with Sony Corporation.

Nishikori, 18, will endorse a wide range of Sony electronics products. In addition, the Japanese-born tennis player will wear a Sony logo on his right sleeve during official competition. Nishikori currently has worldwide endorsement agreements with Adidasand Wilson.

Thanks DownTheLine!; Image via NicksTennisPicks.com

WATR Celebrates Earth Day All Week - Wilson Racquet Sports' Green Initiative

Like most other tennis companies (all companies for that matter), Wilson Racquet Sports has their own Green Initiative. Theirs is a program committed to developing and implementing environmentally responsible products and manufacturing procedures across their major product categories.

Many key elements of the Green Initiative have already been recently implemented into the packaging and manufacturing processes of current Wilson products. For tennis balls, all PET Wilson tennis ball cans now contain a minimum of at least 25% post consumer recycled PET. For 2007 alone, Wilson anticipates this will result in a reduction of 330,000 pounds of landfill waste.

For Wilson's accessories and indoor racquet sports products, new changes in packaging and manufacturing processes are also being implemented. Wilson has already replaced the non-recyclable PVC packaging for their racquetball gloves with cardboard, a recyclable material. Additional packaging changes are being made to other indoor products such as protective eyewear for squash and racquetball that will reduce overall packaging waste. In addition, for Wilsons Evolution Footwear line, Wilson is introducing new recyclable footwear inserts that will be standard in all Wilson tennis shoes starting in 2008.

Support Wilson by buying their products.

Wilson's Graphic Design Team Receives Award

Wilson Sporting Goods Co.'s inhouse graphic design team has been awarded the 2008 American Inhouse Design Award presented by Graphic Design USA. The 2008 Wilson Racquet Sports Consumer Catalog has been specifically recognized as an outstanding marketing piece for design.

Continue reading: "Wilson's Graphic Design Team Receives Award"

Wilson Open II - Lighter, Cooler, and Redder (is that a word?)

It's about time in our opinion that Wilson gets a little more stylish with their kicks. They have one of the highest quality tennis shoes, but they always look so plain. The Open II is one of the best lightweight, cushioned, and breathable shoes around. We love the red, its time to make a non-white tennis shoe statement that isn't black.

"The direct-injected TPU Quarter Stable Wrap keep feet stable when moving laterally, important for the advanced player having to make quick changes of direction. Dual layer toe protection with Duratex adds durability while the 360 degree ventilation and perforated EVA sockliner help keep your feet cool."

Check out the Wilson Open II here.

From Daily Racquet

$20 off K-Swiss & Wilson Tennis Shoes for Spring

Shoebuy is offering $20 off select athletic shoes at checkout if you spend $75 or more. The discount comes off at checkout, so there's nothing else to do. There are some great deals, here are a few:

K-Swiss Ultra Natural Tennis (Women's) - Platinum/Black

Wilson Tennis Pro Staff Leather (Women's)

K-Swiss Ascendor SLT (Women's) - White/Platinum/Orchid

K-Swiss Ultra Natural Tennis (Men's) - Black/Platinum

K-Swiss Ultra Natural Tennis (Men's) - White/Sport Green/Light Grey

Aaron Krickstein Goes Retro at Outback Tournament

We love retro tennis, as anyone who reads this blog knows. So we were thrilled when we saw that Aaron Krickstein, 80's American tennis pro, was seen playing with the Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 he had back when Reagan was still President. We haven't seen someone playing high level tennis with a racquet that dated since Jimmy Connors wouldn't let go of his Wilson T2000!

From Tennis Served Fresh

Wilson Finishes 2007 as the #1 Racket Brand, Again

Wilson continued to be the #1 racket brand choice in 2007, according to the year end 2007 SMS/TIA survey just released. Based on the strength of the new [K]Factor line of rackets, Wilson's performance racket market share continued to move up in 2007 (vs 2006) to further Wilson's position as the clear #1 racket brand.

Wilson had 5 of the Top 10 "Hot New Rackets" in 2007 with the [K]Six.One 95, [K]Six.One Tour, and [K]Six.One Team rackets earning the #1, #2, and #3 sellers overall on the "Hot New Rackets" survey - which measures the best-selling new rackets that have been launched in the past 12 months. Wilson also had an amazing 8 of the Top 20 best-selling rackets for all of 2007 - regardless of when they were launched.

Wilson's ongoing success in 2007 is already showing momentum in 2008 with their new [K]Blade family of rackets that has begun shipping and used by Novak Djokovic to win the 2008 Australian Open - his first Grand Slam title. Other noteable players that have switched to new [K]Blade models include Australian Open Finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as well as superstars Venus & Serena Williams.

In addition to the many top players upgrading to new [K]Blade models, both world #1 players, Roger Federer & Justine Henin are also playing [K]Factor for 2008.

The market share data above is based on the 2007 Sports Marketing Surveys / TIA tennis specialty retail audit report.

Check out Wilson [K]Factor [K]Blade racquets at Amazon.

From TennisWire

5 Questions with Jon Muir, GM of Wilson Racquet Sports

Q. You're calling from Hong Kong, after spending a few days at the Australian Open, where Wilson is the official ball and it appears that Roger Federer will swoop up another title. What's your take on tennis in the region?

Exposure for tennis is growing in the region with the Australian Open TV coverage and local countries looking to showcase more professional events. The governing bodies in Korea, Japan, and China are working to build a stronger infrastructure for growing the sport and I think they are looking at the strong impact the USTA and TIA have had in the U.S. as to how you can build long-term for the health of the sport.

Continue reading: "5 Questions with Jon Muir, GM of Wilson Racquet Sports "

Mini String Reels from Wilson and Luxilon

If you buy your own string but don't want to have to build an addition on your house to put your full reels of string, there is another option - mini-string reels. Wilson and Luxilon both sell these, and they have a chart on the back to keep track of how much string you have left. Pretty convenient and a great alternative to buying a full reel of string.

Wilson mini-reel options:
NXT Tour - 17G
NXT - 16G
K Gut - 16G
Sensation - 16G

Luxilon mini-reel options:
Big Banger Power Rough - 16G
Big Banger ALU Power Flouro - 17G
Big Banger ALU Power - 16G
Big Banger Original 16G

More about these at Tennis Magazine

Djokovic takes Tsonga and Australian Open Title in 4 Sets

At long last, one of the Serbian contingent has a Grand Slam tennis title. Novak Djokovic, after beating Roger Federer in straight sets, took down Jo-Wilifried Tsonga (the Cinderella story of the tournament) in 4 sets - 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6. Tsonga, who in the semis beat the stuffing out of Rafael Nadal in straight sets, put up a noble fight but came up a little short. We're sure to see more from him. Congratulations to Novak!

It was also a big night for adidas and Wilson, who sponsor both players head-to-toe.

Shoes:
Both wear the adidas Barricade V.
Djokovic wears the white version
Tsonga wears the black version

Racquet:
Both swing the Wilson K Blade Tour

Apparel:
Djokovic wears adidas YOC Group
Tsonga wears the adidas Edge Group