LONDON (Reuters) – The WTA said a new, reduced sponsorship agreement with Sony Ericsson in which the mobile handset maker loses its naming rights to the women’s tennis Tour would give the governing body greater flexibility to grow.

The Women’s Tennis Association and Sony Ericsson gave no financial details of the contract announced on Monday which extends their agreement to the end of 2012.

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LONDON (Reuters) – Sony Ericsson’s relationship with the WTA Tour remained positive despite Serena Williams’s foul-mouthed outburst at the U.S. Open in September, the tour sponsors have said.

The 28-year-old American was put on probation for two years and handed a record fine after an expletive-laden outburst at a lineswoman in New York culminating in a penalty point that handed victory to Kim Clijsters in their semi-final.

“Any sport is competitive and incidents happen with players in any sport,” Calum MacDougall, the company’s director of global marketing partnerships, told Reuters.

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DOHA (Reuters) – The Women’s WTA Tour could be looking for a new sponsor after Sony Ericsson confirmed on Sunday that they had still not decided to extend their current commitment past 2010.

Sony Ericsson, the mobile phone company, has sponsored the women’s Tour since agreeing a six-year deal worth $88 million in 2005 but the deadline for renewing its partnership is rapidly approaching and no agreement has been reached.

“The deadline to respond to the renewal is the end of this year,” Aldo Liguori, Sony Ericsson’s corporate vice-president and head of global communications, told reporters on the final day of the $4.5 million Tour Championships.

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