Tennis Australia signs up Deloitte to enhance United Cup experience
Big Four professional services firm Deloitte has signed a multi-year partnership agreement with Tennis Australia for its innovative national mixed-gender team competition the United Cup.
As official business and technology transformation consulting partner, Deloitte will support a variety of digital projects to enhance the experience for fans and stakeholders, with the green dot to feature prominently across on-court signage.
Launched in 2022, this year’s event will take place between Sydney and Perth from the 27th of December, with Germany looking to defend last year’s title and stars such as Stefanos Tsitsipas and Coco Gauff already confirmed to be competing.
“We look forward to supporting the Tennis Australia team as they create a stronger future for players and fans, aligning on our shared ambition of ensuring a sustainable future for sport,” said Sandra Sweeney, head of Deloitte’s local Sports practice. “This further emphasises our commitment to work with sporting organisations locally and globally, to deliver world-class transformation.”
A spiritual successor to the Hopman Cup, the United Cup is the first mixed-gender representative tournament to award both ATP and WTA rankings points, and will this year see combined teams of up to three men and women from eighteen countries compete for over $10 million in prize money. Five of the world’s top 10 women and nine of the top 20 men featured in last year’s event.
“It’s exciting to have a partner like Deloitte on board with the United Cup, a highlight on the global tennis calendar,” stated Tennis Australia’s chief commercial officer Cedric Cornelis, an alumnus of Bain & Company in Europe. “The partnership also allows us to build on our world-class capabilities and continue to optimise our day-to-day business processes within the ever-changing sporting landscape.”
Global spotlight
Deloitte is not unfamiliar with the global sporting stage, including its biggest of all, with the firm having served as a top-tier strategic partner of the International Olympics Committee since 2022. More recently, Deloitte extended its decade-long deal with the Olympics to include technology integration, while also signing up as a digital transformation partner of Paralympics Australia.
“Sport is such an important part of our Australian culture, and we are excited to showcase how Deloitte can help Australian sporting organisations be successful,” stated Deloitte’s technology & media industry consulting lead Jason Start. “We will bring the best of our Australian and global experience to support Tennis Australia in delivering world class capabilities and experiences.”
Tennis Australia – which has been at the forefront of the sport’s innovation and has a close relationship with the consulting industry both internally and as advisors – has also had a successful relationship in recent years with another global integrator, Infosys, which has been serving as a partner of the Australian Open and likewise delivering fresh innovations to enhance the grand slam.