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Tennis will be able to ride out the credit crunch because it has a diverse pool of investments and is not reliant on a single economy for its survival, outgoing WTA chief Larry Scott said on Thursday.

While Formula One, golf, soccer and many other sports have been hit by the financial downturn, tennis continues to go from strength to strength as shown by the record crowds that have flocked through the gates at Wimbledon this week.

"No doubt this economic crisis we're going through is having major impacts on global sport. Tennis is certainly not immune," Scott told reporters at the All England Club.

"Tennis is in the fortunate position, however, of being global on the one hand and, secondly, being very diversified now in terms of our revenue streams.

"The globality is important, because we're not a sport completely dependent on the U.S. financial sector or U.S. auto sector for sponsors," he said referring to those troubled parts of the struggling American economy.

"The diversity of revenue is a very important point in that while six years ago sponsorship title sponsorship was a make or break issue for the WTA, it isn't today."

Scott also said that even in a shrinking economy like the United States, investment in the sport has not waned despite the dwindling number of American players on the tour.

TV RATINGS

"Players like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, players like Maria Sharapova, may not carry a U.S. passport but they certainly resonate on Madison Avenue where sponsors are based and make decisions. They certainly drive TV ratings," said Scott, who steps down as CEO of the women's tour this month.

"So the nature of our sport is such that global stars can drive real interest and following in the U.S. So I'm not pessimistic at all.

"Clearly there are (revenue) spikes in countries where you have national stars, there's no doubt about that. But the base of tennis is incredibly strong in the U.S., regardless of whether there are stars or not."

During Scott's six-year tenure the WTA has boosted sponsorship revenue by 500 percent, led by an $88 million, six-year deal with mobile phone firm Sony Ericsson.

While such deals have resulted in a 40 percent increase in prize money for women, Scott was optimistic tennis as a brand would not lose its appeal to sponsors or fans.

"If I look back on the first six months of 2009, our tournaments are genuinely pleased with how tennis has held up, how their fans have held up, how their sponsors have held up," he said.

"The big question is what's going to happen in the next six months? Are we seeing light at the end the tunnel?

"Are companies going to become more optimistic and bullish about the future and start opening up investment again, or is it going to be tough to renew deals?" added Scott.

"Tennis is also a sport where there tend to be longish commitments on sponsorship. They tend to be two, three, four-year deals. I've been pleased there haven't been too many immediate effects."

(Source: Reuters)