News

Kennelbach/Los Angeles — Arguably, there is no other player on the WTA tour who embodies the symbiosis between performance and style on court as impressively as Maria Sharapova. Starting January 1st, 2011 the 23 year-old Russian is combining her style with the performance of HEAD as Sharapova is joining the very successful team of the “HEAD Racquet Rebels”.

HEAD is extremely proud to announce this newest addition to its player portfolio, which currently already includes — with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Robin Soderling — the world’s number three, four and five ranked player on the ATP World Tour. Johan Eliasch, CEO of HEAD N.V.:“We are proud to have Maria on board with so many other great tennis athletes like Novak, Andy and Robin. She definitely helps us build a much stronger women’s team together with Victoria Azarenka and Svetlana Kuznetsova.”

Together, Maria and HEAD are now developing a new racquet which will perfectly support her powerful game and help Maria getting back to top position in the WTA ranking. “I am excited to be in the HEAD Team and looking forward to this partnership. With my new HEAD weapon I am confident to regain a spot among the Top 10 again soon”, she explains her decision for HEAD.

At her young age, Maria Sharapova is a tennis icon on court, an impressively dedicated athlete, and the idol of many young female players. She is also a fashion icon representing style on and off the court. In 2010, she was elected Favorite WTA Singles Player, as well as Most Fashionable On Court and Most Fashionable Off Court Player in the WTA Fan Favourite Voting Awards.

But most of all, Maria Sharapova is a true champion: In 2004, at age of 17, she won her first Grand Slam Title at Wimbledon beating top seed Serena Williams in the final. She has claimed two more Grand Slam titles at the US Open 2006 and the Australian Open 2008. In four separate occasions the WTA had ranked her World No. 1 in singles before serious shoulder problems in October 2008 have been forcing her out of the game for nearly ten months. Off-court, Maria Sharapova has been featured in a number of modelling assignments — including a feature in the famous Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue — and picked as face of many fashion houses, but her first priority remains tennis, of course.

When she came back in May 2009 she was ranked No. 126 due to her extensive lay-off. But since this comeback she could win three more titles — bringing her to a career total of 22 — and recovered her ranking to World No.18 again. Together HEAD as her new racquet partner, she is planning to get back to the top.

The cooperation with Maria will open new dimensions for HEAD to offer performance and style products. The partnership includes, next to the high-performance tour racquet line, a range of junior and kid’s racquets, accessories, and tennis bags. Sharapova will be closely involved in the development and design of these products, which will be launched in Retail in fall of 2011 and supported by a Retail and Digital Marketing Communication campaign.

ABOUT HEAD

HEAD NV is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of premium branded sports equipment. Its roots trace back to 1950 as Howard Head, the inventor of the first metal ski, founded the company.

HEAD’s business is organized into four divisions: Winter Sports, Racquet Sports, Diving and Licensing. HEAD’s product range includes tennis, squash, paddle and racquetball racquets, tennis balls, tennis footwear, badminton products, alpine skis, ski bindings and ski boots, snowboards, snowboard bindings and boots.

HEAD holds leading positions in all of our product markets and its products are endorsed by some of the world’s top athletes.