PLAYERS
Andre Agassi
"The US Open Series is a positive development for the game and will aggressively promote professional tennis in the United States. This initiative shows what can be accomplished when the various entities in the sport work together."
Andy Roddick
“As a tennis fan growing up it was always challenging finding tennis on television. The US Open Series for the first time provides fans an easy way to follow the sport in the summer. It's a new way to develop a new generation of tennis fans... and players.”
Venus Williams
“The US Open Series is exactly what the sport of tennis needs, an elevation of profile in the U.S. Tennis is a great sport -- with exciting rivalries -- that needs to be presented in a more understandable fashion for the fans. The US Open Series will go a long way toward serving current fans of the sport and bringing new ones into the sport.”
Lleyton Hewitt
"It's good to see the top North American summer tournaments link together with the US Open to promote the sport. Hopefully, this will be a win for everyone concerned."
Martina Navratilova
“Culminating with the US Open, the US Open Series creates a summer long advertisement for the sport of tennis.”
Jack Kramer
"This meaningful partnership with the USTA is long overdue and should prove to be the best thing to happen in American professional tennis since the advent of 'Open Tennis' nearly forty years ago."
Billie Jean King
“The US Open Series is a giant step in helping to grow the sport. Consistent television exposure will provide fans better access to the sport, which can only encourage more of them to attend a tennis match, pick up a racquet and make tennis part of their lives."
Pam Shriver
“The US Open Series will herald a new era of partnership and opportunity for tennis -- with the sport's key stakeholders working together to create a more visible platform for the men's and women's professional game in the U.S. Significant television programming commitments will bring new fans and, in turn, interest in today's great players and the emerging rivalries throughout the summer.”
BUSINESS PARTNERS
Sean McManus, President, CBS Sports
“As a 35-year partner of the US Open, we see the US Open Series as an extremely creative and effective approach to growing the sport of tennis. As with all successful sports properties, a consistent and cohesive TV schedule is the critical platform for showcasing stars and growing the sport.”
Mark Shapiro, Executive Vice President, ESPN
“The US Open Series is a revolutionary breakthrough for tennis. ESPN’s dedication of resources and programming windows for the US Open Series reinforces our commitment to the launch of one of the strongest summer sports packages.”
Donald Dell, Sr. Vice President, Clear Channel Entertainment
"I think that this could be the biggest thing for tennis in the last 50 years. It’s a historic step forward, a phenomenally important thing in building a tennis platform.”
Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG
“The US Open Series first and foremost will benefit tennis fans throughout North America both by creating a summer tennis ‘season’ and elevating the stature of the most important tournaments leading up to the US Open. The additional exposure, status, marketing tools and bonus system the agreement will bring to the JPMorgan Chase Open will ensure that our fans will see the highest quality field of top-ranked players in the history of our tournament. I congratulate all in creating this unprecedented partnership for developing this ‘dream’ summer season for tennis fans.”
Butch Buchholz, Chairman and Founder, NASDAQ-100 Open
"I commend the USTA on their efforts to grow American Tennis. Their support of the summer circuit should generate fan interest from the expanded media coverage for the events leading up to the US Open. It's great to see the USTA thinking beyond the US Open and putting their assets toward building the game throughout the country. Well done."
Steve Bellamy, President and Founder, The Tennis Channel
This is a brilliant move by the USTA to leverage the Crown Jewel of tennis, the US OPEN to gain exposure on great networks like: ESPN, CBS and NBC. We are going to be broadcasting the series for hundreds of hours and are going to use our air to help promote the broadcasts on these other networks.
Paul M. Flory, Chairman, Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati
"The Cincinnati Masters has been televised every day during its summer week, and this has been critical to its growth. Now the US Open has put together a series of events linked together with strong television and promotion, and this should be great for the growth of the game. Continuing as a Masters event, we believe we can contribute importantly to what the US Open has initiated."
Stacey Allaster, Vice-President, Tournament Director, Tennis Canada
“Tennis Canada is thrilled to partner with the USTA to grow and promote the sport of tennis in North America. The US Open Series will elevate the importance of our sport and provide broadcast partners, sponsors and most importantly fans the most exciting sports and entertainment package of the summer.”
Bob Kramer, Tournament Director, Mercedes-Benz Cup, presented by Countrywide
"The exciting US Open Series relationship with the USTA and Tournaments is going to help unify our sport in a measurable and meaningful way. One that will make it much easier for tennis fans, sponsors, and enthusiasts to follow and enjoy tennis."
Neal Pilson, President, Pilson Communications
“This is the future of tennis. The US Open Series adds stature to the sport, will create more interest in the summer tournaments and will lead to better ratings.”
Barry Frank, Vice-Chairman, TWI
"The launch of the US Open Series is a remarkable achievement for this sport. I'm sure this will prove a tremendous addition to the pro game in North America."