By Liz Kobak
ATP World Finals Delivers Record Attendance
Sold out crowds and record-breaking online and television audiences made Barclays ATP World Tour Finals history at this year’s season-ending title held in London’s O2.
There were 17,800 pairs of eyes that excitedly watched defending champion Novak Djokovic commandingly defeat world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in straight sets. The Serbian star raked in $1.92 Million, while he and his fellow ATP tour standouts attracted 261,247 in-person spectators. More than 260,000 fans were also in attendance last year. Since relocating to London in 2009, the eight-day tournament housed in The O2 arena has welcomed upward of 1.28 Million tennis fans. The elite tournament’s mobile traffic doubled since last year.
“The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 have been another terrific success. We’re always looking for ways to grow the event and to give fans greater opportunities to engage with our tournament on-site, online and on television,” said Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Tournament Director Andre Silva. “We’re thrilled with the response that we’ve had and we’re very grateful for the support that the tournament has had from fans all over the world.”
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has been in action since The Masters was born in 1970. London’s The O2 is this event’s home through 2015.
ATP Tournament Making Grassy Switch
Work is progressing at Stuttgart’s MercedesCup, where courts are changing from clay to grass for the 2015 ATP World Tour 250 tournament.
These past three months, TC Weissenhof’s Courts 12, 13 and 18 were rebuilt under the All England Club’s guidance.
“The soil structure and grass mixture we are using in Stuttgart is equal to Wimbledon,” said Engelmann Golfplatzpflege GmbH CEO Christian Engelmann, who spearheads the company that is retrofitting these courts. “We would like to thank the All England Lawn Tennis Club for their excellent support. If everything progresses well and stays on schedule, the first three grass courts in Stuttgart will be ready for play end of May 2014.”
On July 7, 2014, former Wimbledon champions John McEnroe and Michael Stich are playing an exhibition match on Mercedes Court (formerly Court 18), where there are 2,000 surrounding seats. Center Court and EnBWCourt are also going grass in 2015.
Car Companies Driving Wimbledon Finalist’s Endorsements
Less than six months after reaching her first-ever Grand Slam singles final, 24-year-old German tennis star Sabine Lisicki drove into yet another major car-related endorsement deal.
The 2013 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 15 has officially become German car insurance company AdmiralDirekt.de’s brand ambassador. Lisicki is featured in AdmiralDirekt.de’s photo shoot video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM1GB_x_Q04. While her endorsement compensation has not yet been disclosed, evidently her playing career and everything that comes with it is heading down a good path.
Lisicki also received endorsements from French car company Peugeot following her Wimbledon run. Perhaps another car company will put Lisicki in the driver’s seat depending on her 2014 Grand Slam performances.
Tennis Channel Launches Exotic Sweepstakes
Tennis Channel launched arguably its most illustrious sweepstakes ever: Emirates Seeing Our World.
The golden ticket grants $30,000 in total amenities, including two airline tickets to Dubai, VIP 2014 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships passes, five luxurious nights in Atlantis Palm Dubai and more.
Enter here: http://www.tennischannel.com/emirates/
ATP World Tour 500 Increasing Tournament Prize Money
Professional male tennis players can expect significant pay raise soon.
The ATP announced on Friday that ATP World Tour 500 tournaments’ average player compensation will increase by 10 percent in five years’ time. Total prize money in this caliber tournament will grow from $17.6 Million (2013) to $30.8 million (2018).
“We are delighted to have reached this outcome which sees significant prize money increases for the players, as well as the addition of two very strong tournaments in Queen’s and Halle to the ATP World Tour 500 category from 2015,”said ATP Europe CEO Laurent Delanney. “The decision not only strengthens the 500s category as a whole but also enhances the grass-court season leading into Wimbledon. It is a terrific outcome for our players, tournaments and the sport as a whole.”
Tour players must compete in at least four of these tournaments throughout five years, including one after the US Open. The official 2015 ATP World Tour 500 tournament schedule arrives in due course.
US Fed Cup Team To Play In Cleveland
The USTA recently announced that Cleveland’s Public Auditorium has been chosen as the 2014 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas’ site for the World Group First Round between the United States and reigning Fed Cup champion Italy, February 8-9.
Fed Cup is the world’s largest annual international team competition among female athletes, with 96 countries represented in 2014. The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles, winning its last in 2000. The United States and Italy are two of eight nations eligible to win the 2014 title within the elite Fed Cup World Group.
The best-of-five match series begins with two singles matches on Saturday, February 8, and is followed by two reverse singles matches and one doubles match on Sunday, February 9. The round winner advances to the semifinals, facing either Spain or the Czech Republic April 19-20.
“I am thrilled that Fed Cup is headed to Cleveland for the first time,” said U.S. Fed Cup Team Captain and Cleveland resident Mary Joe Fernandez. “Italy is a tough team with a strong record in Fed Cup, and playing them is always challenging and exciting for us. Living in Cleveland, I am happy that Ohio will get to see some high-quality tennis, and I expect tennis fans to fill the stands to cheer on Team USA.”
General public tickets are available starting on Friday, December 6, while USTA member pre-sale begins two days prior. Call the U.S. Fed Cup hotline at (888) 334-8782 or visit www.usta.com/fedcup for latest ticket information. The USTA is organizing, staging and promoting this event, while Tennis Channel is providing all live match coverage daily.
Liz Kobak won the 2013 USTA National Women’s Open Singles Grass Court Championship. She is a 2010 Columbia University graduate and Northwestern University journalism master’s recipient. She is a former WTA ranked pro and #1 ranked United States junior tennis player who rates her 6-4, 6-1 win on Italian clay over Sara Errani as her best victory.
