New Haven to Host New ATP Tournament
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alison S. Kim
akim@atptennis.com
05/10/05 - The ATP announced today that New Haven will host a new $650,000 men’s professional tennis tournament in the week before the US Open. The tournament will be played concurrently with the existing Tier II Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale University.
The combined event, owned by the USTA, will be known as Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Michelob ULTRA. It will be the only combined men’s and women’s event of the US Open Series.
The men’s tournament, to be played August 21-August 28 on hard court, replaces the former ATP event in Long Island. The main draw singles will be a 48 draw, with a 16 draw in doubles and a 32 singles qualifying draw.
New Haven, which hosted an ATP event between 1990-98, won a spirited bidding process for the tournament.
Mark Miles, ATP CEO, said: “The ATP is delighted to return to New Haven and we are pleased that we are able to add another combined men’s and women’s event to the calendar, as we see that as a key step in growing the game. New Haven presented a compelling bid with first-rate facilities, a tournament staff led by Anne Worcester with a track record of running a very successful Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event, and a location near New York City that will be enticing to players on the eve of the US Open.”
Tournament director Anne Person Worcester is in her eighth year as tournament director of Pilot Pen Tennis following a seven-year term as CEO/Managing Director of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The tournament attracts between 80,000-90,000 fans each year and in 2004 received more than 15 hours of television coverage on ESPN and CBS, which in 2005 will increase to 18 hours.
Event Date: 08/21/05
Event Title: Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Michelob ULTRA
