Octagon's De Picciotto Sees Tennis Having `Unlimited Potential'

Phil de Picciotto, President, Athletes & Personalities for Octagon, says tennis has ``a truly global'' platform, thus making it ripe for "unlimited potential and creativity'' on the sponsorship and player promotion front.

In New York for the two-week frenzy that is the U.S. Open, de Picciotto told me that tennis has moved beyond the "amalgam of individual interests'' that used to dominate the sports and positioned itself well.

``Tennis needs to market to its strength,'' said de Picciotto, who has been working with tennis players for almost three decades and whose clients include former world No. 1 women Martina Hingis and Amelie Mauresmo and 2003 men's French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero. ``It's a game people can play for a lifetime.''

De Picciotto says Asia represents the region with the most growth potential, especially with the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing approaching.

``Asia is the least tapped market so far, but that's changing,'' he says. ``The key is establishing tradition and developing players the world will notice. China and India are the countries to watch.''

As far as the U.S. tennis landscape following the retirement of Andre Agassi at last year's U.S. Open, de Picciotto says that does remain a challenge for sponsors, marketers and fans.

``The Williams sisters and Andy Roddick are great players for sure,'' he offers. ``But Roddick has the uphill battle of being one of many great players in today's game, when you consider how good Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are now. It's tough to really compare today's global tennis scene to 25 years ago when about two-thirds of the tour was made up of players from English-speaking countries.''