NEW YORK, N.Y., March 25, 2008 – InsideOut Sports & Entertainment today announced that Mats Wilander, Mikael Pernfors and Paul Haarhuis will complete the eight-player field at The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman Legends Championships to be played April 16-20. InsideOut also announced the match schedule for the clay-court event, one of the two new events on the 2008 Outback Champions Series tennis circuit. Wilander joins fellow world No. 1 players John McEnroe and Jim Courier as well as former U.S. Davis Cup standout Jimmy Arias in Group A, while Haarhuis and Pernfors are in Group B along with Todd Martin, the year-end No. 1 in the 2007 Stanford Champions Rankings, and Olympic silver medalist Wayne Ferreira.
The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman Legends Championships is the second of eight events on the 2008 Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events around the world featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. The event features $150,000 in prize money with an undefeated winner taking home $54,000. Players also compete for Champions Series points that will determine the Stanford Champions Rankings year-end No. 1 and the winner of a $100,000 year-end bonus. All Champions Series events feature eight-man round-robin match formats with the winner of each four-player division meeting in the title match while second place finishers in each division meet in the third-place match. Tickets begin at just $15 and can be purchased by calling 877-322-TIXX (8499) or 954-241-7936 or at www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com. VIP hotel and ticket packages are also available, including access to clinics with the players.
“When you combine the high level competitive tennis from the legends of the sport with the paradise and luxury of The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, you have all the ingredients necessary for a gem of a sporting event,” said Jon Venison, co-founding partner of InsideOut Sport & Entertainment and the Outback Champions Series. “We are all greatly anticipating bringing the Outback Champions Series to the Caribbean and staging what will be one of the most prestigious tennis events ever in the region.”
The full schedule of play is as follows;
SCHEDULE FOR 2008 THE RESIDENCES AT THE RITZ-CARLTON, GRAND CAYMAN LEGENDS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Wednesday, April 16
Beginning at 12:30 pm
Todd Martin vs. Mikael Pernfors
Followed by
Wayne Ferreira vs. Paul Haarhuis
Followed by
Jim Courier vs. Mats Wilander
Thursday, April 17
Beginning at 12:30 pm
Paul Haarhuis vs. Mikael Pernfors
Followed by
Todd Martin vs. Wayne Ferreira
Followed by
John McEnroe vs. Jimmy Arias
Friday, April 18
Beginning at 12:30 pm
Wayne Ferreira vs. Mikael Pernfors
Followed by
Jim Courier vs. Jimmy Arias
Followed by
Mats Wilander vs. John McEnroe
Saturday, April 19
Beginning at 12:30 pm
Jimmy Arias vs. Mats Wilander
Followed by
Jim Courier vs. John McEnroe
Followed by
Todd Martin vs. Paul Haarhuis
Sunday, April 20
Beginning at 12:30 pm
Third-place Match
Followed by
Championship Match
Wilander won seven career major singles titles, including three French Open titles (1982, 1985, 1988) and thee Australian Open titles (1983, 1984, 1988). In 1988, he completed one of the greatest years in the history of tennis at the US Open, where he defeated Ivan Lendl in a five-set final for his third of four Grand Slam tournament titles for the year and the No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career. Wilander won 33 career singles titles during his career and helped Sweden to the Davis Cup title in 1984, 1985 and 1987.
Pernfors, who finished in fourth place in the first event on the 2008 Outback Champions Series in Naples, Fla., is best known for his run to the singles final at the 1986 French Open, where he defeated Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker before losing to Ivan Lendl in the final. He won three ATP singles titles including the Canadian Open in 1993 where he came from 2-5 down in the third set to defeat Martin in the final. Pernfors helped Sweden to the Davis Cup final in 1986 and won back-to-back NCAA singles titles for the University of Georgia in 1984 and 1985.
Haarhuis, a former world No. 1 doubles player and a wild-card entry into the event, will be appearing in his second Outback Champions Series event after winning the title in Dubai last year, defeating Courier in the final. A quarterfinalist at the 1991 US Open, Haarhuis won a career Grand Slam in doubles (six total Grand Slam men’s doubles titles) including Wimbledon in 1998 and the US Open in 1994.
Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features eight events where champion tennis players continue to exercise their competitive instincts in tournament formats that feature prize money and Champions Series ranking points that determine a year-end No. 1 player on the Stanford Champions Rankings. To be eligible to compete on the Outback Champions Series, players must have either; reached a Grand Slam singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team. Each event also has the right to choose a “wild card” entrant.
InsideOut Sports & Entertainment is a New York City-based independent producer of proprietary events and promotions founded in 2004 by former world No. 1 and Hall of Fame tennis player Jim Courier and former SFX and Clear Channel executive Jon Venison. In 2005, InsideOut launched its signature property, the Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including one-night “Legendary Night” exhibitions as well as corporate outings, charity events and tennis fantasy camps, including the annual Ultimate Fantasy Camp. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com
