PowerShares QQQ becomes Title Sponsor of Champions Series starting in 2012
InsideOut Sports + Entertainment recently announced that PowerShares QQQ has signed a multi-year agreement with the Champions Series to become the new title sponsor of the national 12-city tennis circuit starting in 2012. Already a title sponsor on the recently completed PowerShares QQQ Challenge tournament at the United Center in Chicago, PowerShares QQQ will ultimately become the umbrella sponsor of the entire series starting next fall. The Chicago-based organization will join GEICO, ASG Software Solutions, Tennis Magazine, Donnay, Kimpton Hotels, Citation Shares, Izod and the USTA as official patrons of all twelve annual tournaments. “We are thrilled to expand our partnership with PowerShares QQQ to include the title sponsorship of the entire Champions Series starting in 2012,” said Jim Courier, Founding Partner of the Champions Series. “The deeping of our partnership with PowerShares QQQ today is a testament to both the effectiveness of the Champions Series format for our corporate partners and the commitment and competiveness of our fantastic group of tennis legends.” During the just completed 2011 Champions Series circuit, Pete Sampras won the ultimate $500,000 bonus check after winning five events. Courier finished second, while Andre Agassi finished third. The Champions Series is a New York-based tennis circuit for tennis legends over the age of 30, created in 2005 by InsideOut Sports + Entertainment, which is co-owned and operated by former SFX Executive Jon Venison and 2005 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee Jim Courier.
ESPN signs 6-year multi-platform rights deal with the WTA Tour
ESPN and the WTA Tour have signed a six-year multi-platform rights deal through 2016, adding more than 150 hours of live women’s tennis coverage on television per year including at this week’s year-end WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey on ESPN2 and ESPN3. The deal also includes live coverage of more than 70 matches from 11 WTA Premier Events on ESPN3. The network already carries all four Grand Slam events as well as all the ATP World Tour 500 and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events on the men’s calendar. “This new agreement with the WTA says a lot about the power of ESPN’s multi-platform scale and its ability to serve passionate tennis fans. We have a long history with professional tennis in our 32 years, and now we are slated to carry all the top-tier tennis events from around the world across our networks,” said Jason Bernstein, Senior Director of Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN.
Allaster set to stay as WTA Tour CEO through 2017
Stacey Allaster will stay on as the Chief Executive Officer of the WTA Tour through 2017 after it was announced on Monday that she received the unanimous backing of the WTA’s board of directors. Allaster, who became the head of the WTA Tour in 2009, is expected to become the second-longest serving CEO in the Association’s history. Since taking over, she has overseen record revenues, broadcast exposure and prize money increases, despite having to maneuver the WTA Tour through very tough economic times. Allaster has also helped bring sponsorship revenues to a 60 percent increase since 2009. Allaster said she was “honored to have the opportunity to continue to lead women’s tennis and work with the world’s best female athletes on continuously improving our fans’ experience.” She added: “Together with our players, tournaments, lead global sponsor Sony Ericsson and our roster of world class partners, my management team and I plan on building on our great momentum to service our fans, sponsors and members.”
US Open could change to Monday finish as early as 2012 tournament
According to USA Today’s Doug Robson, US Open Tournament Director Jim Curley told the Associated Press last week in a telephone interview that the USTA started discussions last month with CBS about possibly having the tournament finish on a Monday, which would allow a day off in between the men’s semifinals and final. Currently, the US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that plays its semifinals and final matches on consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday. Under the possible consideration which would add a 15th day to the tournament, the men’s final would be moved from Sunday to Monday, and the women’s final from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon. This would also allow the women to rest for a day before their championship match. The USTA is also considering keeping the men’s championship match on Sunday afternoon, but moving the two semifinal matches to Friday. “We’re just getting into this process,” said Curley, “And right now, everything is on the table.”
American Bogomolov Jr. wants to finish career playing Davis Cup for Russia
American Alex Bogomolov Jr. said on Tuesday that he wants to play Davis Cup for Russia starting in February. The 28-year-old was born in Moscow before moving to Mexico with his family when he was 9 and to the United States in 1992, eventually settling down in Florida at age 11. Although he is the fourth-highest ranked American in the current rankings, he has yet to represent the United States in Davis Cup action due to strong play by players like Mardy Fish, Andy Roddick, John Isner and Sam Querrey. “It was my dream (to play for Russia) and I want to finish my career playing for Russia,” Bogomolov Jr. said after winning his first-round match at the St. Petersburg Open. Davis Cup rules state that if a player is eligible to represent more than one country, the national association that wants to select him must apply to the International Tennis Federation six months before the match and await a ruling from the Davis Cup Committee. Bogomolov Jr. has dual citizenship in Russia and the United States. Russia plays Austria in the first round of Davis Cup from February 10-12.
Canadian Rebecca Marino splits with coach Larose after two years
World No. 60 Rebecca Marino has decided to cut ties with her coach of two years, Simon Larose. After reaching the Memphis final in the spring, Marino struggled to put together consistent results. “We decided we should mutually stop. It was going quite well, we had two good years together, and he’s a really good coach, but sometimes things come to an end,” said Marino. “We got to that stage in our relationship where we thought we didn’t want to drag things out and not make things work, so we decided to stop while we were having a good go.”
Clijsters to return in December exhibition match against Wozniacki in Antwerp
Former world No. 1 and 4-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters announced on her official website that she has resumed training and will participate in an exhibition match at the Diamond Games in Antwerp against Caroline Wozniacki in December.
Christine Frost named Chief Development Officer at International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum
On Monday, Christine Frost was named the new Chief Development Officer at the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum in Newport, R.I. Frost brings to the position more than 20 years of experience in fundraising, strategic planning and marketing. Most recently, she served as the Associate Director, Regional Development in the Office of University Advancement at Brown University. For nearly a decade prior, Frost worked in direct marketing at several global marketing agencies, including McCann Relationship Marketing and J. Walter Thompson Direct. In her new role in Newport, Frost will be responsible for developing donor relationships, leading targeted fundraising campaigns, and advancing the organization’s annual fund, planned giving and membership programs. These fundraising programs support the Hall of Fame in the growth and maintenance of an extensive tennis Museum and archives, preservation of the buildings and grounds, which are a National Historic Landmark, and various other programs to support the non-profit’s mission to preserve the history of the tennis, honor the greatest champions of the sport, and inspire future generations. “We are delighted to welcome Christine to the International Tennis Hall of Fame,” said Mark L. Stenning, CEO. “Between the effective skills she has shown in fundraising and development, and her enthusiasm for our mission, we are confident she will play a key role in the organization’s growth.” Frost is a graduate of Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. She currently resides in Newport, R.I. with her husband and their two children. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at The Pennfield School in Portsmouth, R.I.