The WTA announced a collaboration with Hello Kitty on Tuesday. I read it on Wednesday on the 7:32 train, and read it twice more, because I still thought tennis merchandise meant towels and headbands.
Silly question, but why a cat? According to the WTA’s message, this is its first official merchandise collaboration. The very first. So before Hello Kitty, there was nothing. I tried to find out what they sold before. I checked, and actually nobody knows.
There will be T-shirts, sweatshirts and a collectible plush toy. The products show Hello Kitty in different tennis settings. I tried to picture which ones. Hello Kitty serving. Hello Kitty asking for a towel after a point where she hasn’t sweated. Hello Kitty waiting for silence. And then I realised something: Hello Kitty has no mouth. She is the only spectator who keeps quiet without being asked.
Sarah Swanson, brand lead at WTA Ventures, pointed to the many things the two worlds have in common, both born a few months apart in the 1970s. She said: “Sport can be serious, but it should also be really fun.” I wrote the sentence in my notebook. It is the first time anyone has told me tennis is allowed to be fun. Mostly I’ve been told when not to clap.
Everything will be sold at the WTA Finals Fan Village in Indian Wells, from 8 to 15 November, and online on the Sanrio website. More collections could follow. The WTA will open its own online shop in spring 2027.
A cuddly toy, fine. But strung with what?
I asked the newsroom what you say when you win a plush toy. Nobody answered. Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
It’s true, we checked: Tennis Actu.
