Long known for running shoes and casual footwear, New Balance has recently branched out into football, baseball, tennis and cricket. They signed Milos Raonic in 2013 and Heather Watson early this year.
Heather will face Serena Williams in the third round tomorrow.
Also read:
Raonic, Watson and Gibbs star in New Balance commercial
New Balance signs Heather Watson
Milos Raonic Wimbledon 2015 outfit
New Balance is in beta mode. New Balance debuted a new brand platform – Always in Beta – the brand’s “promise to relentlessly improve, to never stop pushing and to always strive for more.”
The company’s marketing message centers on the brand’s intent to improve upon the products created in its 100-year-plus history.
That theme will be played out in a new television commercial called The Storm, that follows a young woman pushing through her limits with the help of other athletes, among them tennis players Milos Raonic, Heather Watson and Nicole Gibbs.
It is New Balance’s first global campaign, “an attempt to become a truly international, multisport athletic brand like its rival with the Swoosh.”
While “long known for running shoes and casual footwear”, New Balance has recently branched out into football, baseball, tennis and cricket. New Balance CEO Rob DeMartini said,
“It’s an effort to position our brand up against the biggest in our category in footwear, apparel and accessories and in multiple sports.”
Also read:
Milos Raonic Wimbledon outfit
New Balance signs Heather Watson
New Balance press day: SS15 collection
New Balance announced the signing of British number one player Heather Watson, recent winner at the Hobart WTA tournament.
Heather Watson’s association with New Balance comes after the 2013 signing of top-ranked men’s tennis player Milos Raonic as the brand drives to build a formidable presence in the tennis market worldwide.
Also read: New Balance press day report
Over the weekend, I’ve been learning just how close the courts are to each other. Many practice sessions take place at the same time as live matches, and it’s not uncommon to overhear the line calls for another match (or more) while anywhere (even on Grandstand or in the stadium). The concerts in the food court area take place at the same time as the matches, and that sometimes adds to the confusion: on Saturday, at the start of Townsend v. Riske, which was on Center Court, I at first assumed that a DJ was sleeping on the job when the chair umpire called out, “Thank you, music, thank you” — and, like the umpire, belatedly realized a minute or so later that we were hearing the performers from outside the arena, rather than a recording being piped through its system. (As Andy Murray noted during his Sunday afternoon press conference, however, players can adjust to noise if it’s a consistent presence — it’s sudden changes [such as people yelling out of turn] that they find disruptive.)
Center Court can at times seem quite close not only to the other courts, but to the rest of Mason. If one has binoculars on hand (or, in my case, the zoom lens on my camera), and is sitting in an upper row, it’s possible to sneak glimpses at the activity on other courts. During the Melzer vs. Hewitt match, I could discern part of the Court 3 scoreboard (Lepchenko v. Tatishvili), some of the players practicing on Courts 7 and 8, and a roller-coaster looping around its loops over at Kings Island:
When I arrived at Lindner Family Tennis Center Sunday morning, around 10:45 a.m., I walked into a lesson on star power. There was scant interest in the players practicing on Court 16 …
… but the stands for Court 15 were already packed.
By the time Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka entered the court (around 11:07 a.m.), fans were crowded along every available inch of the Grandstand’s top rail, standing on its back bleacher, and lined up along the rail of the vodka patio as well:
(I felt rather sorry for Ebden and Tomic, the players actually competing on Grandstand, as there were arguably more people watching the practice than their match. The crowd eventually thinned out, as Novak and Stan practiced for two hours [with at least one shirt change for Stan], but the situation was problematic for the ushers — it was impossible for them to stop so many people from walking down and around during points and other non-changeover instances, though they gamely tried.)
By the time Tomic and Ebden shook hands, Court 16 had amassed a sizable audience as well. The fans at the top of Grandstand could alternate between watching Jelena Jankovic (also in at least two outfits) and Nole and Stan:
At Cincy, a player such as Benoit Paire can slip into a match with little fuss (in this case, to watch Adrian Mannarino abuse his racquet in the course of beating Marcos Giron):
Later that day, he was practicing with Somdev Devvarman…
… adjacent to a court with onlookers all along its far fence:
The fences see a fair amount of crowding. Saturday morning, I was delighted to see Kimiko Date-Krumm among the many players assigned to Court 11 ((that’s Heather Watson looking on, and I think it’s Barbora Zahlavova Strycova on her left):
It can all easily get overwhelming, though. The Date-Krumm practice, for instance, was just a few feet away from the Ormaechea vs. Hercog match on Court 10. For a while, I couldn’t resist walking back and forth between the two:
Sometimes, though, it’s just smart to take a break:
More reports from Cincinnati:
On the way to the Western & Southern Open
The Western & Southern Open main draw party
Friday evening at Lindner Family Tennis Center
Seeking relief from the heat
Andy Murray poster at Wimbledon Station: Wimbledon awaits
Maria Sharapova’s Sugarpova pop-up store in Wimbledon Village:
2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic:
Henman Hill (or Murray Mound?)
Petra Kvitova leaving practice courts:
Last year’s runner-up Sabine Lisicki practising:
The queue arriving at Wimbledon:
Centre Court before play starts:
Ball Boys and Girls:
Rafael Nadal and Lukas Rosol arrive on Centre Court for a rematch of their 2012 second round meeting:
Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Mary of Denmark in the Royal Box:
Denise Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, James and Pippa Middleton in the Royal Box:
Chelsea Pensioners enjoying the match:
Led 4-6 2-4, Nadal rallies and wins in 4 sets 4-6 7-6 6-4 6-4. He’ll face Mikhail Kukushkin in the third round.
Next on Centre Court, Angelique Kerber and Heather Watson:
1969 Wimbledon champion Ann Jones watching the match (to know more about this champion who also excelled in table tennis, read her portrait written by journalist Rex Bellamy)
6-2 5-7 6-1 win for world number seven Angelique Kerber.
Last match of the day on Centre Court: 7-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer faces Gilles Muller.
Rain stops play at Wimbledon. Rain on Henman Hill:
View from Henman Hill, you can see the Shard in the background:
Empty practice courts:
The roof makes its first appearance at Wimbledon 2014:
Good day at the office for Federer who wins in straight sets 6-3 7-5 6-3.
Thanks a lot to Karen for her pictures and story. Follow our Wimbledon 2014 coverage
