Game, Set, Match

🤿 Below the Surface

Here's what's on deck this week:

• Signal Strength: Translating lessons from the court to the boardroom

• In the Current: Caitlin Clark's signature logo drops + WNBA CBA negotiation deadline looms

• Blue Zone: Laura Correnti sits down with Alex Rodriguez on Bloomberg’s “The Deal”

• Shark Bite: Kloss on BJK Enterprise’s target market

⚡️ Signal Strength  

From Baseline to Boardroom

In 1974, this Johannesburg native became the youngest No. 1 player in South African history and took home the United States Open juniors singles title.

Her résumé includes U.S. Open Doubles Champion, French Open Mixed Doubles Champion, and U.S. Open Over 35 Mixed Doubles Champion.

Her name is Ilana Kloss.

The tennis legend understood something fundamental about professional sports careers: they're shorter than most people realize. "You're not a professional athlete for that long,” she notes, “so how could I use that as a platform to grow off the court?"

Rather than viewing her playing career as an expiration date, Kloss leveraged it as a launching pad. She translated the lessons from the court—teamwork, resilience, and adaptability—to the boardroom.

Leading her to find her calling as the CEO and Commissioner of World TeamTennis (WTT), a league founded on the principle of men and women competing on the same team for equal pay. But Kloss wasn't interested in just women's sports. As she puts it: "Why would you only want half the market? We want the whole marketplace."

That philosophy sparked a new playbook.

Today's sports executives aren't choosing sides. They're playing the whole field. Female leaders are taking ownership stakes, reshaping franchises, and proving that smart money doesn't care about gender. They're hands-on operators who understand that sustainable success comes from being in the business, not just investing in it.

These executives are building empires with a simple truth at their core: sustainable success comes from seeing the full picture and having the courage to claim every inch of it.

See how Kloss's playbook is still reshaping sports ownership. Read more on the new vanguard building tomorrow's franchises today.

📰 In the Current  

We monitor the current so you can ride the wave. Here's what you need to know this week:

• Nike Basketball unveiled Caitlin Clark’s new logo as their newest signature athlete.

• ATTN: Brands. About 1 in 4 fans of women’s soccer have made a purchase because of a brand’s sponsorship, making them 58 percent more likely to do so compared to fans of other women’s sports.

• WNBA negotiations intensify as CBA deadline approaches. Player priorities include an improved revenue sharing structure, improved benefits, roster expansion, and league-wide workplace standards. A great post on the commercial implications from Just Women’s Sports founder, Haley Rosen, here.

🦈 Blue Zone  

Deep Blue’s Laura Correnti joined Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly on their Bloomberg show The Deal to talk all things women’s sports.

Listen to hear:

• How she came to found Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment.

• Why she’s torn up her five-year plan so many times amidst the growth of women’s sports.

• What needs to be done to create more “multi-hyphenates” amongst female athletes.

Plus, Deep Blue x Official League partnered to launch the Be The Shark capsule collection, portion of proceeds will to support Grow Our Game. Purchase your fit here.

Grow Our Game is a 501(c)3 non-profit committed to providing girls ages 4 – 14 from NYC within underserved communities with year-round basketball training programs free of charge. 

🌊 Shark Bite

“A lot of times people think, if you're a woman, you only want to be involved in women's sports. Why would you only want half the market? Right? We want the whole marketplace. You know, when people say to Billy, thank you what you've done for women, she I can tell, the hair on her back stands up and then she calms down because she realizes it's a compliment. But she's like, I don't do what I do only for women. I do it for everyone, and I want the whole market.”
- Ilana Kloss, CEO of Billie Jean King Enterprises