– Strategic personnel growth continues at the Players Association and its for-profit affiliate, further supporting and enhancing the global advocacy and business development on behalf of women’s and men’s professional tennis players globally –
– New leadership and executive staff based around the world in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Marrakech, Morocco –
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 3, 2023 – The Professional Tennis Players Association (“PTPA”), global advocates for women’s and men’s professional tennis players, has added five personnel to its leadership and executive staff based in offices around the world. Veteran sports entertainment attorney Wajid Mir joins the PTPA as Senior Vice President, Player Engagement and General Counsel; international strategist Romain Rosenberg as the new Senior Vice President, Strategy and Player Relationships; sports marketing and events professional Jenna Nobles as Director of Player Marketing and Events; and media and content expert Kayla Wilkinson as Director of Digital Media and Communications. In addition, former athlete and operations leader Mike Oczypok is set to join the PTPA as Director of Operations on February 6.
At the PTPA, Wajid Mir oversees day-to-day engagement of players and their teams including their agents, families, and teams. He joins from IQ Sports & Entertainment after being managing partner for the global agency. Bringing two decades of experience managing professional athletes, Mr. Mir will develop and administer the PTPA Players Services Platform, which is designed to improve the player journey via benefit programs, support services and resources. Having also previously served as in-house counsel and agent at Roc Nation Sports, Mr. Mir will oversee legal matters and apply his skill set to developing strategies for the organization’s expanding player advocacy.
Mr. Mir commented: “In my time as a player agent, I was fortunate to help develop and manage careers of world-class athletes. In doing so I also saw firsthand the immense professional and personal challenges athletes face, particularly in tennis. I witnessed the necessity for a player-backed advocacy group, and I’m delighted to join such a group and bring my insights and experiences to further our mission to positively impact women’s and men’s professional players. I believe the PTPA and Winners Alliance can and will improve player conditions, uncover new market opportunities, promote equality, and innovate this incredible sport’s structure and economic landscape.”
Bringing an international business perspective and a tennis playing background to his role, Romain Rosenberg will concentrate on growing and innovating the PTPA and establishing and nurturing relationships with players, their agents, managers and respective teams. In addition, Mr. Rosenberg will focus on identifying incremental and novel growth and commercial opportunities for athletes globally in order to provide greater financial safety for players. Prior to joining the PTPA, the France-born strategist led large-scale projects at the renowned Boston Consulting Group, where he oversaw corporate strategy and digital innovation for Fortune 100 companies, primarily media companies and financial institutions.
Jenna Nobles will infuse the PTPA and Winners Alliance with her expertise in the creation and implementation of world-class athlete-centric events, sponsor activations, and player marketing opportunities. She joins from Octagon, where she served as the global sports and entertainment agency’s director of marketing and sales. Prior to that, Ms. Nobles spent six years at the NFL Players Association and its marketing and licensing arm NFL Players Inc., helping to market and leverage the group rights of NFL players through top-tier events and marketing promotions.
Running point on all media and communications strategy and functions for both the PTPA and Winners Alliance is Kayla Wilkinson. The sports digital media expert will help shape creative strategies focused on storytelling, brand building, engagement, and driving business results through digital channels in support of women’s and men’s players, the PTPA and Winners Alliance. The North Carolina alum most recently served as director of digital talent at Octagon sports entertainment agency, where she oversaw digital media strategy for Octagon-represented athletes.
Beginning February 6, former University of Alabama baseball player Mike Oczypok will join the PTPA and Winners Alliance following two years as director of sales operations at Teamworks where he helped innovate in both product and service to help sports teams and organizations operate as efficiently as possible. In his new role, Mr. Oczypok will focus on building the operational engine at the PTPA and develop growth strategies. Prior to Teamworks, he served as chief of staff for INFLCR, the foremost brand building and NIL business management app for elite athletics.
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About the Professional Tennis Players Association:
The PTPA is uniting and mobilizing tennis players around the globe to create transparency and fairness in professional tennis. It is an independent organization dedicated to the advancement and protection of professional men’s and women’s tennis players across their entire professional journey. Through the PTPA, professional tennis players are building an equitable and sustainable competitive environment for players today and for generations to come, including health and safety issues, schedules, rules, purses, benefits and education. The PTPA is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with operations globally.
About Winners Alliance:
In August 2022, the PTPA launched Winners Alliance, a for-profit affiliate, to generate and maximize off-the-court commercial opportunities for players and their agents, emulating the successful model of players associations in other sports.