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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., February 21, 2005 – The USTA and Promotion Sports, Inc. today announced that the Acura Classic at the La Costa Resort and Spa in San Diego will join the US Open Series, the six-week summer tennis season that now links all major ATP and WTA Tour tournaments in North America to the US Open. With the addition of the Acura Classic, the US Open Series now includes 11 tournaments. Players in the Acura Classic will now earn points toward the US Open Series Bonus Challenge, where the Series winners will now compete for double prize money at the 2005 US Open.
The 2005 Acura Classic, August 1-7, is a Tier I tournament that annually draws the top women in the game competing for $1.3 million in prize money. The Acura Classic will be televised live on ESPN as part of the 100-plus hours of live television coverage for the US Open Series.
“We are thrilled to welcome the Acura Classic -- one of the premier events in women’s tennis -- to the US Open Series," said Arlen Kantarian, Chief Executive, Professional Tennis, USTA. "The addition of the Acura Classic provides a truly unified ‘big league’ summer season of tennis for players and fans in North America, and is another example of the unprecedented collaboration in the sport.”
"The Acura Classic takes place during a very exciting time of year in the tennis world, as fans watch all the competition closely in anticipation of the last Grand Slam event of the season," said Raquel Giscafre of Promotion Sports, Inc., owners of the Acura Classic. "Tennis lovers from all over the country and all over the world attend our event, and our alliance with the US Open Series adds a new element that’s sure to bring a heightened level of excitement to the action on the court."
2005 US Open Series Winners to Earn Double US Open Prize Money
The US Open Series Bonus Challenge directly links players' performances at US Open Series events with their earnings at the US Open. In 2005, the men’s and women’s winners of the US Open Series will compete for double prize money at the US Open -- a 100% increase from last year -- with a potential to now earn $2,000,000 at the US Open. Second place and third place finishers will also earn additional prize money.
The US Open Series launched in 2004 and resulted in record attendance, TV viewership and live broadcast hours for the sport. Television viewership was up over 50%, with regularly scheduled weekend broadcasts on ESPN, CBS Sports and NBC Sports. In total, the US Open Series events -- including the US Open -- generated a record 1.5 million attendees, 126 million TV viewers and over 15 million website visits making it the biggest eight-week summertime property in sports. Lindsay Davenport and Lleyton Hewitt won the inaugural US Open Series.
Promotion Sports, Inc., which owns the Acura Classic and promotes a variety of professional tennis events, is a private corporation headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif. Founded in 1982 by Raquel Giscafre and Jane Stratton, former professional tennis players, the company is dedicated to promoting sports and women’s tennis worldwide. The Acura Classic is sponsored by American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. It owns and operates the US Open, the largest annually attended sporting event in the world and, in 2004, launched the US Open Series which links 11 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 96 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. A not-for-profit organization with more than 675,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass roots to the professional levels. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.
For more information contact:
Tim Curry, Senior Manager, Publicity, USTA
(914) 696-7077 or Curry@usta.com
Harvey Bolgla, Press Contact for the Acura Classic
(212) 288-1400 or hbolgla@dba-pr.com
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