NEW YORK, N.Y., December 11, 2008 – InsideOut Sports & Entertainment today announced the full slate of tournaments for the 2009 Outback Champions Series, highlighted by two new events in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, new single-knockout tournament formats and increased prize money for tournament champions.
The fourth full season of the Outback Champions Series will feature eight total events – each offering $150,000 in prize money – with six events as single-knockout, six-player events, while two events (Rio de Janeiro and Newport, R.I.) will be eight-player, round-robin format events. Tournament champions will also receive first-prize paychecks of $60,000 in each single-knockout event, while undefeated tournament champions in the eight-player round-robin events will continue to earn $54,000. As in 2008, the player who finishes the year ranked No. 1 in the Stanford Champions Rankings will earn a $100,000 bonus, courtesy of the Stanford Financial Group. The final Stanford Champions Rankings in 2009 will be comprised of each player’s best-of-five tournament results.
Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series is a collection of global tennis events featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30, including former world No. 1 players Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Jim Courier and Stefan Edberg. To be eligible to compete on the Outback Champions Series, players must have reached a major singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world in singles or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team.
The full 2009 Outback Champions Series schedule is as follows;
* Champions Cup Boston – Boston, Mass., Feb. 13-15
* Rio Champions Cup – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 12-15
* The Del Mar Development Champions Cup – Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, March 18-22
* The Residences at The Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman Legends Championships – Grand Cayman, April 23-26
* International Tennis Hall of Fame Champions Cup – Newport, R.I., August 19-23
* The Citadel Group Championships at The Palisades – Charlotte, N.C. September 25-27
* Cancer Treatment Centers of America Championships at Surprise – Surprise, Ariz., November 6-8
* Emirates NBD The Legends “Rock” Dubai – Dubai, U.A.E., Nov. 19-21
Each six-player event will also feature special doubles exhibition matches with some of the greatest men and women players of all-time. In 2008, mixed doubles exhibition matches featuring Anna Kournikova were held at events in Charlotte and Dallas.
“We are very pleased with the growth and evolution of the Outback Champions Series since inception in 2005 and we look forward to what will be our most exciting season yet in 2009,” said Jon Venison, co-founding partner of InsideOut Sports & Entertainment and the Outback Champions Series. “Our events take place in many of the world’s most interesting and beautiful locations and feature the greatest champion tennis players in the world. With new fan friendly elements such as doubles joining the event schedules alongside current favorites such as kids’ day, player clinics and pro-ams at each event, we eagerly await the beginning of our season with our first event in Boston.”
Information on each individual event – including ticket information – can be obtained by visiting www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.
The Rio Champions Cup in Rio de Janeiro and the Del Mar Development Champions Cup in Mexico are the two new events in 2009 announced last summer, marking the tour’s expansion into South America and Mexico. The Rio Champions Cup will be held March 12-15 at the HSBC Arena in Rio, while The Del Mar Development Champions Cup will be held March 18-22 at the Palmilla Tennis Club in Cabo San Lucas. The 2009 Outback Champions Series will begin in Boston Feb. 13 at the Champions Cup Boston at the Agganis Arena at Boston University.
Courier finished the 2008 season as the No. 1 ranked player in the Stanford Champions Rankings, earning him a $100,000 bonus by virtue of winning events in Grand Cayman, Charlotte, Dallas and Dubai. Todd Martin finished the 2007 season as the champion of the Series, while Courier also ended 2006 with the top ranking.
The 2008 Outback Champions Series kicked off March 12-16 in Naples, Fla., at The Oliver Group Champions Cup where Martin defeated McEnroe in the final. Courier won the second event of the season at The Residences at The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman Legends Championships April 16-20, defeating Wayne Ferreira in the final, while McEnroe won his first career Outback Champions Series event in Boston April 30- May 4, defeating Aaron Krickstein in the final. Pat Cash won his first Outback Champions Series title in Newport, R.I., in August, defeating Courier in the final, while Courier won his second and third titles of the season in September in Charlotte and in October in Dallas, defeating Martin and Thomas Enqvist in the final, respectively. In November, McEnroe won his second title of the 2008 season in Surprise, Ariz., defeating Martin in the final. In the final event of 2008 in Dubai, Courier defeated Outback Champions Series debutant Edberg to win his fourth title of the year.
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 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
