What to Watch at Wimbledon 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Zach Perles
One Advantage Court
Bordentown,
609-291-5932
zperles@princesports.com
06/22/06 - Bordentown, NJ – Launched in January 2005 and on display at Wimbledon next week, Prince O3 Technology highlights the fresh thinking and innovation that has made Prince a leader in the industry.
O3 Technology is now the choice of more than 70 ATP and WTA touring professionals, 40 of whom play the O3 Tour. What’s more, O3 Technology has an unprecedented conversion rate – of those touring professionals who play test O3 Technology, 50 percent make the switch.
Prince introduced game-changing technology by re-engineering ordinary pin-sized string holes into revolutionary giant O-Ports, expanding the traditional sweet spot up to 54 percent and turning the sweet spot into a Sweet Zone, allowing the player to hit more consistent shots, from more places on the racquet, more often. O3 is the only racquet technology that combines a larger sweet spot with a faster, explosive swing speed without enlarging the racquet head, increasing its length or adding weight.
And the Award goes to…
• O3 is a two-time Tennis Magazine “Editor’s Choice” award winner – O3 Silver in 2005 and O3 Hybrid Hornet in 2006.
• In late 2005, Prince Sports was honored with the coveted Popular Science “Best of What’s New” Award, which recognizes top new products and technologies.
• Editors of WHICH? Magazine, an independent United Kingdom publication that helps consumers choose the best goods and services, recognized the O3 White as this year’s “Best Buy” in the tennis category.
• O3 Hybrid Hornet has been nominated as the “Best Value” and “Best Overall” winner in the Club Players’ Racquet Test in ACE Tennis Magazine, also based in the UK.
Top of the Charts!
• According to the most recent SMS/TIA First Quarter Specialty Store Retail Audit (United States) for 2006, Prince has five of the top six new racquets ranked by year-to-date sales in the “Combined Head Size Hot New Racquets” category, all of which are O3 Technology.
• The O3 White, O3 Blue, O3 Hybrid Hornet, and O3 Tour hold the top four spots combining for 9.8 percent dollar share, while the O3 Hybrid Shark comes in at number six.
• Prince's dollar share in 1Q 2006 increased by 3.0 points over 4Q 2005.
• Prince has four of the top 10 racquets in the Best Seller’s category for the quarter – O3 White at the No. 3 position and the O3 Blue, O3 Red and O3 Silver rank in the top ten.
• In Europe, O3 Technology holds a 40 percent market share of sales of high-priced products (more than £140) in 2005 and a 50 percent share in the United Kingdom.
• Prince is the No. 1 racquet brand in Japanese specialty retail stores.
Who to Watch:
ATP
No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko
• made it to quarterfinals or better in three out of last four tournaments
• highest ranked male Team Prince player
• won Poertschach title this year, defeating Andrei Pavel 6-0, 6-3
• holds a 35-16 singles record in 2006
• plays O3 Tour
No. 19 David Ferrer
• holds a 22-15 record this season
• reached the semifinals at ATP Masters Series Miami and quarterfinals at Hamburg and Monte Carlo
• member of Spain Davis Cup team
• plays Shark DB
No. 29 Olivier Rochus
• holds a 22-13 record this season and compiled at 6-3 record on grass in 2005
• won at Munich, reached the semifinals at Auckland and quarterfinals at Rotterdam, Dubai Halle
• member of Belarus Davis Cup team
• plays Original Graphite LB
WTA
No. 4 Maria Sharapova
• 2004 Wimbledon Champion
• considered to be one of the best grass court players in the world
• reached semifinals at 2006 Australian Open
• Indian Wells Champion in 2006, defeating No. 4 Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-2
• reached semifinals of Birmingham, a Wimbledon warm-up event
• plays O3 White
No. 23 Shahar Peer
• picked up her first three career wins in 2006 – Pattaya City, Prague and Istanbul
• reached round of 16 at 2006 French Open
• defeated her first Top 10 opponent, Elena Dementieva at French Open 6-4, 7-5
• active duty soldier in the Israeli army
• a celebrity in her native Israel
• plays an O3 Hybrid
No. 1 Samantha Stosur and No. 2 Lisa Raymond
• won 2006 French Open, their third Grand Slam title as partners
• with win at French, Raymond became 13th women in the Open Era to achieve the career doubles Grand Slam
• considered the favorite to pick up their second Grand Slam of the year at Wimbledon
• won six times as a team in 2006 – Roland Garros, Tokyo, Memphis, Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston
• team has firm hold on rankings by more than 2,500 points
• play O3 White (Stosur) and Shark DB (Raymond)
Other Team Prince Players to Watch
Player Racquet Ranking as of June 19
ATP
Paul Goldstein O3 Tour No. 63
Davide Sanguinetti O3 Tour No. 67
WTA
Ai Sugiyama O3 White No. 21
Marion Bartoli O3 Red No. 27
Jelena Jankovic O3 Red No. 29
Liezel Huber O3 Tour No. 6 (doubles)
