Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys and Jack Sock are tennis’ next generation of familiar faces, at least according to American Express, which is an official partner of the US Tennis Association and the US Open. AmEx has signed the three young Americans to a deal representing the financial firm in multimedia activations.
The 20-year-old Stephens is ranked No. 17 in the world among women and the 18-year-old Keys No. 40, but they are No. 2 and No. 5, respectively among US women, behind world No. 1 ranked Serena Williams.
Sock, 20, is No. 87 among men worldwide and No. 3 among US men behind John Isner and Sam Querrey.
Stephens’ alliance extends to 2014, according to American Express. Stephens also has deals with Under Armour, Head and Johnson & Johnson’s Listerine. Keys has deals with Nike and Wilson. Sock has an alliance with Adidas.
Stephens, Keys and Sock will appear in a variety of AmEx activations during the Open, which runs Aug. 26-Sept. 9. That includes Internet, social media such as Facebook and YouTube, and appearances at the American Express US Open Fan Experience in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
In addition, the three players have been working with American Express to refurbish tennis courts in their respective home towns. These are among 80 community tennis courts being upgraded this year through AmEx’s Fresh Courts initiative.
Financial terms of the AmEx deals were not released.
Companies are high on Stephens and Keys because of their playing and marketing upsides. Patrick McEnroe, former player and US Davis Cup captain, and a US Open analyst for ESPN, said that Stephens and Keys were the most likely among all American women currently on the WTA tour to next join Serena Williams as Grand Slam tournament winners.
“Other than Serena, Sloane Stephens would be the first one [to win a Grand Slam] that comes to mind,” said McEnroe. “She’s getting close. She’s close to the top 10. She’s done well in the big tournaments, [and] Madison Keys has shown a lot of big game potential, so she would be No. 2.”
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