Federer passes $70 million in Career Tournament Prize Money
New world No. 2 Roger Federer passed $70 million in career tournament prize money following his title last week at the Mutua Madrid Open. Federer has earned $70,512,279 throughout his celebrated career which started in 1998. Federer, a winner of 74 singles titles including 16 majors and 20 Masters 1000s, has earned $3,082,343 so far this season.
Emmy-Award Winning Producer Gary Lang to Join Tennis Channel
Tennis Channel announced on Monday that Emmy-Award Winning Producer Gary Lang will take the role as Vice President, Production. The long-time television producer will report to Bob Whyley, Senior Vice President of Production and Coordinating Producer, Creative, effective immediately. “We’re thrilled to have Gary on the team to help us build on the strong foundation that’s already in place,” said Whyley. “His track record producing major sporting events and related programming are incredibly impressive – as proven by his many accolades. We’re very excited and look forward to Gary’s immediate impact on our tournament coverage.” Lang’s responsibilities while on the job will include day-to-day oversight of the production department’s creative content for its coverage of the Grand Slams, domestic tournament remotes and daily studio productions. Lang comes to Tennis Channel with twenty years of experience in the sports programming world. Having worked for Fox Sports from 1994-2008, he was responsible for the look and style of the network during his tenure and also served as vice president, special projects, for a stint. While at Fox, Lang had a hand in the production of many major sporting events including the World Series and Super Bowl. He also was responsible for the majority of segments and presentations that aired, including a groundbreaking 3-D sports film that utilized technology seen in Hollywood blockbuster films. Throughout his career, Lang has won a total of 17 Emmy Awards, including seven for the World Series and MLB All-Star Game, one for “Best Studio Show” for MLB on Fox and three for “Best Show Opening” for three different programs. Most recently, Lang produced Thursday Night Football for the NFL Network.
David Ferrer, Oliver Golding Sign with Maui Jim
Maui Jim, the Hawaiian sunglass brand, has signed world No. 6 David Ferrer and 18-year-old Oliver Golding to its team of Ambassadors, which already includes Mardy Fish and Sabine Lisicki. Financial terms of both agreements were not disclosed. The 30-year-old Spaniard is a winner of 14 career singles titles. Ferrer has earned victories in his lengthy career over players including Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Carlos Moya, Lleyton Hewitt, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Robin Soderling, David Nalbandian, Marcos Baghdatis and Fernando Verdasco. “I’m delighted to be one of the Maui Jim’s Ambassadors. I’m constantly travelling all over the world, all year round, and I’m sure they’re going to be really useful,” said Ferrer. “I’ve found the sunglasses to be of excellent quality and Maui Jim offers a great range of models,” Martijn Van Eerde, the International Marketing Manager of Maui Jim, also spoke about the agreement reached between the player and the brand: “It’s great news for us to have David on board. He’s a great player who enjoys worldwide recognition and shares many of the essential values of Maui Jim, such as quality, style, uniqueness and brilliance.” Golding is one of Great Britain’s top young talents, who is currently competing in the minor leagues on the ATP World Tour. Golding, who won the 2011 US Open Boy’s Singles title, is currently ranked No. 549 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. “Maui Jim sunglasses are great for tennis. The polarized lenses make all the difference when playing outside because they stop the glare. As well as being practical, they also look great!” said Golding.
Pasarell steps down as Indian Wells Tournament Director
Charlie Pasarell has decided to step down as longtime Tournament Director of the combined ATP and WTA Tour BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. The former Top 10 player has been the Tournament Director since 1981. Pasarell made up his mind to leave his current post to focus on the construction of Royal Isabella, a golf, residential, and resort community in Puerto Rico that he is developing with his brother Stanley.
Tennis Players Continue to Buy Racquets Despite Shaky Economy
A promising first quarter was capped off in March in the tennis specialty market, posting increasing racquet unit/dollar numbers very rarely seen in 2011. Units were up 15 percent and dollars 12 percent in March. It showed that tennis players are still buying tennis racquets at a steady rate despite the declining economy. The strong March numbers led to a Q1 unit increase of 14 percent and dollar increase of 12 percent, compared to Q1 in 2011. The TIA Specialty Store Retail Audit details unit and dollar share of racquet sales at pro/specialty stores of the leading tennis racquet brands and analyzes the market by price point, racquet type and size. The TIA (Tennis Industry Association) Specialty Store Retail Audit is produced on a monthly basis by the TIA’s research partner, Sports Marketing Surveys USA.
Charity Auction Launches in Bastad for Artwork from ATP World Tour Players
Want to get your hands on a one-of-a-kind painting by ATP World Tour players? Now is your chance. With the help of Swedish artist Victoria Curling, players such as David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Juan Monaco, Robin Soderling, Filippo Volandri, Robert Lindstedt, Jonas Bjorkman and Thomas Johansson, created a piece of the eight-panel painting during last year’s ATP World Tour 250 SkiStar Swedish Open in Bastad. Proceeds of the auction, which started today, and will run through July 14 during this year’s tournament, will benefit Soderling’s foundation, Stiftelse, which launched in 2011 during the Bastad tournament. The foundation helps children in need and attempts to improve their everyday lives, assists those that are economically deprived and provides aid to research focused on children’s diseases. To place your bid on the artwork, visit http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180883061867&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123#ht_500wt_1202.
Tennis Warehouse and ATP Launch ATP World Tour Store for Europe
According to a press release, Tennis Warehouse and the ATP have expanded their online retail partnership to include Tennis Warehouse Europe in the ATPWorldTourStore.com official website. Linking European customers to the ATP World Tour Store marks another milestone in their longstanding collaboration since 2000. Tennis Warehouse Europe was established in Germany in 2008. TennisWarehouse-Europe.com offers customer service in five languages and ships to customers around the world. Through this most recent e-commerce agreement with the ATP, tennis fans are connected to ATP players’ gear by the click of a mouse. ATPWorldTourStore.com allows shoppers to browse their favorite athletes’ profiles and showcases their racquets, apparel, and shoes. ATPWorldTourStore.com streamlines the shopping experience by putting tennis products directly at the fan’s fingertips. “We are excited to expand our affiliation with the ATP to include Europe. The expansion of the partnership will allow fans in the European market to receive the same great service as in the US market and provide our customers with the option of communicating with staff in English, Spanish, German, French, and Italian.” said Rick Kerpsack, Managing Director of Tennis Warehouse Europe. ATP Commercial Director and CEO ATP Europe, Laurent Delanney, said, “Europe has been and remains an incredibly important region for the ATP World Tour, as home to the largest number of our players and tournaments. We are enjoying one of the most exciting periods in the history of men’s professional tennis, and are thrilled to be expanding our online retail offering to fans across Europe. Tennis Warehouse offers the most comprehensive collection of tennis merchandise online and their product knowledge is unrivalled. They remain the perfect online retail partner to power ATPWorldTourStore.com.”
International Tennis Federation Names Kris Dent Executive Director of Professional Tennis
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced the appointment of Kris Dent as its new Executive Director of Professional Tennis, starting in mid-June. The role will oversee the three ITF departments within the professional game: Davis Cup and Fed Cup, Professional Tournaments and Officiating. Dent will be responsible for the management of both the regulatory and operational activities of Davis Cup and Fed Cup, and will also oversee the ITF Pro Circuit, beach tennis and the ITF’s officiating programme. Olympic operations will be included in his remit following the completion of the 2012 Olympic Tennis Event. Dent will report to ITF Executive Vice President Juan Margets. All of the ITF’s professional tennis activities will now be overseen by one Executive Director with the aim to focus the ITF’s efforts in these areas and provide additional departmental strategy and support. Dent has 15 years experience in the sports industry working for governing bodies, agencies and as an independent consultant in the UK, Europe and USA. During this time he has held several senior roles within tennis, including Head of Communications at the LTA followed by Communications Director positions with both the WTA and ATP. More recently, he worked with the Football Association on the 2018 World Cup bid, before holding consultancy roles on the Qatar 2022 Bid Committee and Ticketmaster’s London 2012 Olympic partnership. “We are delighted that Kris has joined the ITF in an important role that oversees some of the ITF’s key properties and activities. He has a strong background in professional tennis through his work for several of the sport’s governing bodies, and will bring this experience to the ITF Professional Tennis Department,” said Francesco Ricci Bitti, ITF President.
International Tennis Federation Selects Sportradar AG for Data Distribution
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that the Swiss-based Sportradar AG has been chosen as the worldwide distributor for ITF Official Data. Financial terms of the four-year agreement, which will start in 2013, have not been disclosed. The ITF and Sportradar will begin to cooperate in 2012 to assure the supply of live data from selected ITF tournaments to media outlets, the betting industry and any other interested parties. The agreement will also allow the ITF to expand the range of its events offering live scoring services. The ITF believes that the distribution of ITF Official Data will support integrity measures by helping to eliminate the unauthorized collection, dissemination and use of official or erroneous data and the presence of unofficial data collectors at ITF events. The supply of ITF Official Data will further support integrity measures by creating a framework for more extensive information exchange and cooperation with the legal gambling industry. The ITF began the search for an experienced data partner in October 2011 and received a number of interesting and competitive offers, selecting Sportradar AG because of their experience as a leading sports data service provider. In addition to the data partnership, Sportradar has also been appointed as the ITF’s preferred streaming partner for the ITF Pro Circuit, helping to grow the Circuit and make it more accessible to fans.