Wimbledon could move back a week in the future
All England Lawn Tennis Club Chief Executive Richard Lewis told the BBC Radio 5 Live Broadcast that Wimbledon organizers are considering moving back the prestigious grass court Grand Slam event one week to give players extra time to recover after the French Open. Currently, Wimbledon starts just two weeks after the completion of the French Open, which is played on red clay courts. “We are seriously considering it,” Lewis told BBC Radio 5 live. “It’s often been discussed and it would be ideal to have a longer break. It would be three weeks, ideally, between the French Open and Wimbledon. We believe there are really, really good tennis reasons for having a longer break. We think that more time on the softer surface of grass is something that the players will definitely welcome. And they will welcome the rest and recuperation they can get between playing an intense tournament at Roland Garros and coming to Wimbledon. Three weeks gives them much better preparation time.”
Bank of the West continues as Title Sponsor of WTA Bank of the West Classic
Bank of the West has renewed its title sponsorship agreement with the longest running women’s professional tournament, the Bank of the West Classic, which is held every July on the campus of Stanford University in Northern California. The new multi-year agreement continues through 2017, and will mark over 20 years that the bank has sponsored the prestigious WTA Tour tournament. This year’s tournament will take place from July 9-15 and will include players such as 13-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams, 2009 champion Marion Bartoli and 2011 US Open semifinalist Angelique Kerber. This year, the Bank of the West Classic will also host a series of exhibition matches featuring tennis legends Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and Michael Chang. “We are extremely pleased that Bank of the West has chosen to renew its title sponsorship of the event through 2017,” said Bank of the West Classic Tournament Director Kim Hall Uliasz. “The bank is a tremendous supporter and we look forward to a collaboration where the Bank of the West Classic continues as the premier tournament for professional women’s tennis.”
WTA Tour signs partnership deals with California Products Corporation and Erke
According to Matt Cutler of SportsBusiness, the WTA Tour has further strengthened its Asian-Pacific commercial ties by agreeing to new partnership deals with California Products Corporation and Chinese clothing brand Erke. The multi-year agreement with California Products, one of the world’s leading court surface providers, will see its DecoTurf and Plexipave brands become the official court surface of the WTA and of the WTA’s Tennis Festivals in the Asia-Pacific region. The deal marks the third sponsor signed by the WTA in the Asia-Pacific region in the past two years, following partnerships with Jetstar and Peak. “The WTA’s success and growth in China and Asia-Pacific over the past years is largely thanks to the partnerships that we have formed with leading global brands like California Products,” said Peter Johnston, WTA managing director, Asia Pacific. “Partnering with California Products will allow us to provide the very best playing surfaces at both a grassroots and professional level, furthering the popularity of the game.” The WTA’s new partnership with Erke will see the company become the official partner and supplier of sports apparel for all on-court officials at the 2012 and 2013 editions of the season-ending TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Additionally, Erke will be permitted to develop a premium products line, co-branded with the WTA Championships, specifically for the event which features the world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams competing for the coveted title and a share of $4.9 million (US) in prize money.
DIRECTV Offers Interactive Wimbledon Coverage through July 2
On Monday, June 25, DIRECTV continued its bonus coverage of every Grand Slam tennis match with the 2012 Wimbledon Experience, which offers five extra court channels on one screen and interactive features with instant access to scores, draws and schedules. The 2012 Wimbledon Experience on DIRECTV runs from June 25 through July 2. In partnership with ESPN, DIRECTV delivers all the action from Wimbledon with bonus coverage of early-round and outer-court matches not available anywhere else. Fans can watch up to six matches live at the same time on the Wimbledon Mix Channel (Ch. 701) during the first six days of the tournament. They can also tune in to individual matches on the five additional court channels (704-708) along with the ESPN2 (702) and ESPN (703) network feeds – all in HD and only on DIRECTV. Viewers can immerse themselves in Wimbledon action by using DIRECTV’s interactive features, calling up real-time scores, full men’s and women’s draw, and updated schedules – all at the press of a button on the remote. And it’s available at no extra charge to DIRECTV customers.
Agassi, Graf, Roddick headline Mylan World TeamTennis Smash Hits in Pittsburgh
During the first day of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl joined World TeamTennis CEO and Commissioner Ilana Kloss and Mylan CEO Heather Bresch at Pittsburgh City Hall to announce that the 20th annual WTT Smash Hits presented by GEICO will be played in Pittsburgh. The event will take place this year on Tuesday, October 16 at the Petersen Events Center. Tennis legends Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Andy Roddick have already signed on to participate in the annual charity event. Tickets for the one-night event go on sale Monday, July 16 at 10 a.m. EST. Corner reserved seats are $40, while premium seats are $75 and courtside seats are $125. Tickets can be ordered through www.WTTSmashHits.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Smash Hits, an annual charity night hosted by longtime friends Sir Elton John and Billie Jean King, has signed Pittsburgh global pharmaceutical company Mylan as its title sponsor. “As we celebrate our 20th anniversary of Smash Hits, we couldn’t ask for a better partner than Mylan, whose leadership work in the AIDS arena has continued to make such a positive difference on a global basis,” said WTT co-founder Billie Jean King. “Together, we will continue to use all our assets to expand awareness and ensure as many people as possible have access to affordable drugs to treat HIV/AIDS.”
Nadal-Djokovic Exhibition Match for Charity to be shown Live on ESPN2 on July 14
A grass court exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Spain will be shown live on ESPN2 on Saturday, July 14 at 2 p.m. EST. The best-of-three sets match will benefit the RealMadrid Foundation and the Rafa Nadal Foundation. Organizers of the event are hopeful the match will attract more than 80,000 fans, which would make it the largest live audience in tennis history. Currently, the record of 35,681 people is held by an exhibition in Belgium’s historic King Baudouin Stadium between Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams on July 8, 2010. The previous record tennis audience was for the famed “Battle of the Sexes” between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in the Houston Astrodome in September 1973 – 30,472. The exhibition match between the current top two ATP World Tour players will be played just six days after the Wimbledon men’s singles championship match.
Blue Clay not permitted at ATP World Tour events in 2013
According to the ATP World Tour official website, ATP Executive Chairman & President Brad Drewett announced at the recent ATP Board of Directors meeting in London that blue clay courts will not be permitted at ATP World Tour events in 2013. “After careful consideration, I have decided that blue clay courts will not be allowed next year,” said Drewett. “I very much believe in innovation and exploring ways to enhance our sport. While the blue clay may have offered better visibility on television, there were clearly issues with the quality of the courts in Madrid this year, which were not acceptable at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, one of our top events worldwide. Regardless of color, we must first ensure that courts are safe and fair for players. “I know that Ion Tiriac was also disappointed with the court quality in Madrid this year. Ion has been a great supporter of the game for many years and I continue to encourage his ideas, including the testing of blue clay at non-ATP World Tour events. At this time, however, it’s clear that further development is required before it can be considered for use at the ATP World Tour level.” In 2011, the ATP allowed the Mutua Madrid Open to use the surface at this year’s event prior to the French Open, which is played on red clay courts.
John McEnroe commits to Statoil Masters Tennis at Royal Albert Hall in London
Tournament officials announced that Tennis Hall of Famer John McEnroe will return to Royal Albert Hall in London to defend his title at the prestigious Statoil Masters Tennis. The IMG owned event will be played this year from December 5-9. A winner of the inaugural event in 1997, McEnroe will compete against players such as Goran Ivanisevic, Pat Cash, Tim Henman, Mark Philippoussis, Henri Leconte and Fabrice Santoro. “The Royal Albert Hall is an incredible arena for tennis,” said McEnroe. “I really enjoy playing in London, in front of so many enthusiastic and knowledgeable tennis fans, where the competition is very strong with so many top players playing in the tournament. I look forward to giving my very best to win a sixth title.”
ATP World Tour announces new Player Council
As selected by the ATP players, the new ATP World Tour Player Council has been set. The new ATP Player Council includes returning players Roger Federer, Jarkko Nieminen, Eric Butorac and Andre Sa (served 2002-2004), as well as a number of new faces, elected for a two-year term to represent the ATP player membership. Kevin Anderson and Gilles Simon have been added this year, while Robin Haase, Sergiy Stakhovsky, Mahesh Bhupathi and James Cerretani have also been nominated. ATP alumni Brian Gottfried and coach Claudio Pistolesi were also elected by current ATP players. The new ATP Player Council will hold its first meeting in New York City prior to the US Open, where the President and Vice President will be elected.
Di Palermo re-elected to ATP Board of Directors
The ATP Player Council re-elected Giorgio di Palermo as Player Board representative from the European region at its meeting at Wimbledon on Friday, June 22. He will serve another three-year term starting January 1, 2013. Di Palermo was first elected to the ATP Board of Directors in June 2009. Prior to his Board appointment, di Palermo was Director of Player Relations at the ATP, and also worked as a Tour Manager since joining the ATP in 1996. Prior to the ATP, di Palermo worked as assistant tournament director for the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Rome, and also with the Italian Tennis Federation at ATP Challenger Tour and Davis Cup events. “It is an enormous privilege to be part of a great team on the ATP Board and to work with the most exciting generation of tennis players ever. I’m grateful to the Player Council for re-electing me and I look forward to continuing to serve the players and the ATP,” said di Palermo.