ATP Announces New Player Council, Eltingh for Board

Bob Bryan, Thomas Johansson among new members of player leadership group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alison S. Kim
akim@atptennis.com

06/26/06 - London, U.K. – The ATP, governing body of the men’s international tennis circuit, announced the appointment of the new ATP Player Council and re-election of Board member Jacco Eltingh. The Player Council members serve for two years while Eltingh begins a three-year term.
The new Player Council comprises:
1-50 Singles: Ivan Ljubicic, James Blake, Olivier Rochus, Thomas Johansson
51-100 Singles: Paul Goldstein, Davide Sanguinetti
1-100 Doubles: Bob Bryan, Kevin Ullyett
At Large: Younes El Aynaoui, Martin Garcia
Alumni: David Adams
Coach: Ricardo Piatti
“I think this new Council is going to be the strongest ever,” said Ljubicic, who begins his third term. “I spoke with other players in the locker room and they’re really happy how it looks, and with the new management of the ATP, it’s definitely been better in the last eight months than in the last 10 years. I’m looking forward to see how we’re going to improve our game. It’s going to be a very important period.”
Meanwhile, Eltingh was re-elected to his role as the player representative for the European region. He joins fellow player representatives Iggy Jovanovic and Perry Rogers; tournament representatives Patrice Dominguez, Charlie Pasarell and Graham Pearce; and Chairman Etienne de Villiers on the Board.
"I really enjoy what I’m doing,” said Eltingh. “So far it’s been very interesting, entertaining, difficult and time-consuming, but I’m loving it a lot.”
Eltingh is a former ATP No. 1 doubles player who captured 44 team titles, including the career Grand Slam, and four singles titles during his 11-year professional career. The native of Heerde, Netherlands, manages Eltingh Haarhuis Tennis & Events with former doubles partner, Paul Haarhuis. The organization seeks to promote the sport through tennis camps, clinics and events, including the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions’ Eindhoven event in which Eltingh serves as tournament director.
Said de Villiers: “Jacco has done an exceptional job since joining the Board in Shanghai, and his re-election is affirmation of his great work and relationship with the players. The new Player Council shares a vision of moving our sport forward, and I’m excited to work with them as we improve the collective experience for our players, tournaments and fans.”
“It’s an interesting time in tennis,” said James Blake, who was re-elected to the Player Council position. “We just went through the whole doubles change and now we need to make sure it works out and we’re still moving forward with everything we want to accomplish on the player side. Obviously, the tournaments have their ideas and the players have our ideas, and sometimes we have to make compromises, but it’s going to be interesting to be part of the whole process.”
Added Thomas Johansson, a new member of the Player Council: “I think it’s going to be very interesting for me to be in the Council. We have a new CEO with Etienne and we have a very, very good Board as well. I think the Player Council is made of strong players who have really good opinions about everything. So I hope that I can make a difference.”
The Player Council is the representative body for player members of the ATP. It consists of 10 player members, as well as one non-voting Alumni member representative and one non-voting Coach member representative. The Player Council reviews all matters related to players and makes policy recommendations to the Board representatives, who the Council elects.
About ATP
With 64 tournaments in 30 countries in 2006, the ATP showcases the finest athletes competing in the world’s most exciting venues. From Australia to Europe and the Americas to Asia, the stars of the INDESIT ATP Rankings and the world’s best teams in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race contend for prestigious titles at ATP Masters Series and other ATP tournaments. The season's top eight singles players and doubles teams will earn coveted berths at the elite 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the year-end championship held in China from Nov. 12-19. For more information, please visit www.ATPtennis.com
Media Contacts:
ATP Europe: Nicola Arzani, narzani@atptennis.com, +377-9797-0404
ATP International Group: Stephen Duckitt, sduckitt@atptennis.com, +61-2-9250-2300
ATP Americas: Pete Holtermann, pholtermann@atptennis.com, +1-904-285-8000
ATP Mundo Latino: Benito Perez-Barbadillo, bpbarbadillo@atptennis.com, +377-9797-0404

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