The 2011 Champions Series circuit will begin on Sept. 22 in Fort Lauderdale and conclude on Oct. 22 in Buffalo, officials announced on Tuesday.
The likes of Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Bjorn Borg, Michael Chang and Mats Wilander, will all compete on this year’s tour.
“We are thrilled to reunite seven legends who have won an astonishing 52 Grand Slam singles titles among them,” said Jon Venison, Founding Partner of the Champions Series. “This is the greatest generation of champions ever assembled and an unprecedented opportunity for sports fans around the U.S. to reconnect with them.”
The expanded and re-formatted 2011 circuit will consist of a 12-city tour of one-night events in arenas across the country. In addition to Fort Lauderdale and Buffalo, the cities selected to host one-night events include Washington, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, St. Louis and Surprise, Ariz.
Each new Champions Series event will feature a field of four major champions competing in a one-night shootout tournament with two one-set semifinal matches followed immediately by an eight-game pro set championship match.
Agassi, who joined Courier on a conference call on Tuesday, said that he was more than happy to join old friends and rivals. He also insisted that the breaks in between matches with the flexible scheduling will allow him to rest his back, which gave him chronic back problems during the latter stages of his ATP World Tour career.
“We also can play pretty darn well if we’re healthy,” said Agassi, 41. “It’s just the recovery that gets tougher as we get older.”
Courier also spoke highly of the new tour structure and is looking forward to facing off against his old foes.
“Competing against my friends and foes in front of fans across the country is going to get my adrenaline pumping,” he said. “The player line-up and format of the circuit is ideal for me and my peers to quench our competitive thirst while showcasing tennis to many cities that lack pro tennis events. May the best man win.”
To many fans and players, Chicago – which does not hold an ATP Tour event, despite its size and sports tradition – might stand out among the other host cities.
“[It is] one of my favorite cities in America,” said Courier, when asked about professional tennis being played in the windy city.
Agassi, a soon to be Hall of Fame inductee in July, had his own memory of Chicago, which will host the Champions Challenge on Thursday, Oct. 20 at the United Center.
“[I am] very much looking forward to going back,” said Agassi, who won his first national doubles title as a junior player at the renowned Midtown Athletic Club on West Fullerton Avenue.
Agassi admitted that he would like to go back to the celebrated Pump Room at the Ambassador Hotel in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood since that is where his father, Mike, was a busboy when he first moved to the United States from Iran in the mid-1950s.
Agassi, Courier and the other players will compete for ranking points and a prize money bonus pool for the top three finishers on the circuit, totaling $1 million, with the winner walking away with $500,000.
Not only will tennis fans in each city be treated to top quality tennis, but the tennis legends will share their on-court expertise in exclusive tennis clinics for sponsors and mingle with VIP guests at receptions prior to each event.
Major sponsors this year include ASG Software Solutions, Donnay, GEICO, Kimpton Hotels, Longines, Tennis Magazine and USTA.
Television partnerships for the 2011 Champions Series will be provided by Tennis Channel, Fox Sports Net and New England Sports Network (NESN).
The Champions Series is a New York-based tennis circuit for champion tennis players over the age of 30 run by InsideOut Sports + Entertainment, co-owned and operated by former SFX executive Jon Venison and former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam singles champion Jim Courier.
Tickets go on sale on Monday and more information on the 2011 Champions Series can be found on the official website at www.championsseriestennis.com.