Off the Tennis Court, Sports Agency Exec Has Advantage

Stephanie Tolleson prefers fading into the sidelines while her star clients, such as tennis sensation Venus Williams, wow crowds.

Compared with Williams, who sports eye-catching outfits and a 100-mph serve, Tolleson attracts little public recognition in her button-down business attire. But when it comes to the who’s who of women’s professional tennis, Tolleson lands on just about everybody’s list.

As the head of the women’s tennis division at International Management Group, the Cleveland-based sports agency and marketing powerhouse, Tolleson, 43, is riding the wave of rising interest in the women’s game.

It’s been a good few months for IMG’s senior international vice president, who last month signed Venus and Serena Williams to her client roster after spending six years trying to recruit the sizzling sister duo. Tolleson also played a key role in sealing the estimated $40-million deal announced last week between the Women’s Tennis Assn. Tour and Sanex, a Netherlands-based body-care division of Sara Lee Corp.

Financial terms of the five-year deal weren’t disclosed, but WTA Chief Executive Bart McGuire said it’s the “biggest sponsorship in the history of women’s sports,” far surpassing the three-year, $12-million deal with Corel Corp. that ended in 1998.

Tolleson began talking with Sara Lee executives more than a year ago. But early on, the executives weren’t clear how women’s tennis could help build the Sanex brand, especially since the products are not yet sold in North America.

Tolleson made several trips to Europe, armed with statistics about everything from tennis TV viewership to the average income of tennis fans. She also did extensive research on the deodorants, shower gels, shampoos and conditioners within the Sanex line to determine how each product could be promoted.

But the deal still took time because many details had to be worked out. Sanex won’t have signage, hospitality and other on-site benefits at North American events for the first two years of the deal. But because it eventually wants to enter the American market, it may add those benefits during the last three years.

“Stephanie and others at IMG brought us together with the WTA and stimulated the discussions, oiling what needed to be oiled,” said Peter Roorda, president of the household and body-care division at Sara Lee. Tolleson acknowledged that the Sanex agreement was helped because it was a stellar year for women’s tennis. This year, the WTA Tour drew record crowds, with more than 3.8 million people attending its 58 events. This past U.S. Open final, in which Serena Williams defeated Martina Hingis, had the highest TV rating in 10 years, luring twice the audience as last year’s final.

Tolleson was one of many agents who began recruiting the Williams sisters when they weren’t yet teenagers--before their rise from the public courts in Compton to world-class status. She was persistent in her attempts to reach out to Richard Williams and his daughters, arranging several meetings to get to know them and learn what they wanted from their tennis careers. She realized early on that being patient, and not pushy, was the key to winning the family’s trust.

Also, as the longtime agent for Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Tolleson had a reputation for being loyal to her clients. And the five-year, $15-million deal Tolleson secured for Seles in 1995 was considered a landmark contract for a female athlete.

“We’ve known her for a long time,” Venus Williams said. “She’s a nice person and effective at what she does. We believe in the company, or else we wouldn’t do it.”

Venus said she and Serena want sponsors that value family and education, as they do. Venus is sponsored by Reebok and Wilson, and Serena has contracts with Puma and Wilson.

“They’re being very selective,” Tolleson said, noting that the Williams sisters attend school and want deals that don’t involve big time commitments. “We’re looking for a few long-term deals with the right fit. We’re not looking for a quick fix.”

Tolleson was a nationally ranked junior tennis player, earning a scholarship to Trinity University in San Antonio. As a freshman, she won the 1975 NCAA singles title, inspiring her to join the pro tour a year later. Although Tolleson played professionally for four seasons in the late ‘70s, she said she didn’t have much success.

She decided to make the switch from an on-court attraction to a behind-the-scenes player, taking a job with the WTA Tour, which was then based in San Francisco. But in 1981, she was tapped by IMG to handle the WTA Tour’s sponsorship with Toyota. Eventually, she moved into client management, and up the ladder in a world that remains very much a male bastion.

“I’ve grown up on tennis,” said Tolleson, who has a 6-year-old daughter and two teen-age stepchildren with husband Peter Johnson, also a senior vice president at IMG. “It’s a challenge to educate companies to the vast opportunities. And it’s still a hurdle of whether women’s sports has really made it.”

Billie Jean King, who has known Tolleson since they both played on the professional tour, described Tolleson as one of the best tennis agents in the world.

“She’s very bright and good at putting pieces together,” King said. “She’s also good at negotiating because she has the facts. She understands every facet of the sport, from sales and marketing to what it’s like to be a player.”