The fear of endless jokes, bad puns and snickering, as much as the potential loss of local backers, led the Women's Tennis Association Tour to turn down a $10 million global sponsorship offer by Tampax.
Navratilova was in Atlanta for a WTA promotional event when the three-year offer was made last week, and she asked some of the business people attending for their reactions to a "Tampax Tour."
"One of the people who made the most impact on me," she said, "was someone who said, You've played all your career wanting to be known as a great tennis player, and you're known as a great woman tennis player. Think of what it would do to all the players in the future to be known just as part of the Tampax Tour. It would never get tennis beyond women's tennis.' "
Navratilova ultimately, and somewhat reluctantly, voted against the deal, despite the WTA's need to replace the sponsorship it prematurely ended last year with the Philip Morris Corporation, makers of Virginia Slims cigarettes.
The WTA polled more than 100 sports marketing executives, players, tournament directors, sportswriters and announcers, and the reaction ran 75 percent against Tampax.
The WTA had previously been turned down by at least two other potential sponsors: Diet Coke and Diner's Club. AT&T also considered sponsorship but decided against it.
