WTA paid ex-prez $1.4 mil in severance; head of Ventures over $2 mil

Tour tax return shows a financial recovery from the China boycott days

The WTA Tour paid former president Micky Lawler a $1.55 million of voluntary severance last year, according to the circuit’s tax return for 2024 filed November 15.

Lawler, an architect of the Tour’s China strategy and other business initiatives, left the Tour at the end of 2023 and today runs the women’s three on three basketball league, Unrivaled. She earned $1.4 million in her final year managing the women’s tour.

The tax return reported Marina Storti, the CEO of WTA Ventures, earned $2.4 million, though half that came in the form of deferred and retirement compensation. It marked the first time compensation information about Ventures was included in the tax return. The Tour formed WTA Ventures in 2023 to pool the circuit’s commercial assets, and sold 20 percent of the new unit to CVC Capital Partners for $150 million. Storti’s compensation figure is the largest ever listed on a WTA return.

Lawler’s replacement, Portia Archer (she has the title CEO of the WTA) started in July 2024 and earned $808,000 for the six months. Like Storti, a healthy chunk of that, 39 percent, was in the form of deferred and retirement pay.

WTA Chairman Steve Simon, who is retiring next month, earned $1.4 million in 2024, according to the tax return. Also pulling in seven figures was Matthew Cenedella, the now former CFO. He earned $1.4 million, though more than half of that came in the form of retirement and deferred pay.

The return showed a business recovering from its disastrous–at least economically–policy of cancelling its China events in late 2021 in the wake of the Peng Shuai scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Peng_Shuai. Simon, who unsuccessfully demanded the Chinese make Shuai available to the Tour, relented after a nearly two year boycott and the WTA returned to China in late 2023. Shuai had accused a government official of sexual harassment. Eleven of the more than 50 WTA stops are in China.

Tour revenues grew from $119 million to $142.6 million in 2024, which still resulted in a $4.9 million shortfall because of $147.5 in expenses (compensation rose $5 million to $27 million). But the loss was down from a $11 million shortfall in 2023 and a $15 million loss in 2021 (there was a $3 million surplus in 2022). Not only did the Tour reel financially from the loss of the China events, the circuit had to spend to stage the season ending finals, which were supposed to be in China but were itinerant in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The 2025 return surely will be robust with the second addition of the season ending finals in Saudi Arabia. While a controversial move, it should infuse the circuit’s bottom line.

For those wondering, I will write up the ATP Tour’s tax return when I get it, which I am told will be in a few days. I also have a request for the USTA return.

Other interesting tidbits from the WTA’s return: the tour paid Allen & Co. $1.2 million. The investment bank advised the Tour on the CVC investment. The Tour paid its long time outside legal counsel, Proskauer & Rose, $2.9 million.