Sony Ericsson Unveils World’s Largest Tennis Court in New Haven
August 25, 2009
NEW HAVEN, CT — To celebrate the start of the 2009 Pilot Pen Tennis, Sony Ericsson, a leading global mobile phone manufacturers known for its originality and style, and two of the brightest stars of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour — defending Pilot Pen Tennis champion Caroline Wozniacki and World No. 10 Flavia Pennetta — took over the Yale Bowl for “Football Tennis”. The world’s largest tennis court was created for the occasion and laid out inside the Yale Bowl, an historic American football stadium that is considered one of the true treasures of American sports. Denmark’s Wozniacki and Italy’s Pennetta ran tennis balls down the football field and awed tennis fans with their A-games. While history has been made inside the Yale Bowl on numerous occasions, the world famous football field has never been home to a tennis match, let alone a tennis match on the largest court ever created. With “Football Tennis”, Sony Ericsson was once again able to take the sport from the confines of the tennis court to a new audience and unexplored environment.
“Football Tennis” is the third stunt created by Sony Ericsson this summer, following on the heels of last week’s magnificent “Street Tennis” in Toronto during which Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki took over Yonge Street for an impromptu tennis match. The week prior to that, “Fountain Tennis” brought out Kim Clijsters and Elena Dementieva to one of America’s largest amusement parks, Kings Island in Cincinnati, during which the Tour stars amazed tennis fans with their tennis skills in the middle of the fountain. Sony Ericsson, the title sponsor of the Tour, is famous for its breathtaking stunts that place some of the world’s most recognizable female athletes in the most unusual places — on water, on car rooftops in Miami, in a metro station in Madrid, and on a desert island in the Arabian Sea in Doha.
Flavia Pennetta commented on her experience: “I was excited to participate in “Football Tennis” with Caroline today. Sony Ericsson creates magnificent stunts that give tennis an opportunity to be exposed in new and original settings and I loved the experience of playing a tennis match on the world’s largest tennis court. ”
Commenting on the experience, Caroline Wozniacki said: “I have been lucky to have participated in numerous Sony Ericsson stunts at this point and playing on a world-famous football stadium today was another thrilling experience. If only all tennis courts were as large as the one at Yale Bowl today, then all of our balls will be sure to go in! I had so much fun today and it is always rewarding to have an opportunity to bring tennis to new fans in a new environment. “Football Tennis” was a great way to kick off one of my favorite tournaments and I look forward to defending my title this week.”
Stacy Doster, Head of PR, Sony Ericsson North America, said: “For three weeks in a row this summer Sony Ericsson was able to create exciting and original stunts that gave us an opportunity to energize fans and bring a lot of excitement to the tournaments in Cincinnati, Toronto and New Haven. Pilot Pen Tennis has definitely been kicked off with great style and energy this year.”
Pilot Pen Tennis tournament director Anne Worcester said: “Yale University is such a historic place, and a wonderful setting for the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament. For years players have driven past the Yale Bowl to come to the event. This year, for the first time, they will have the opportunity to step into one of the most well-known football stadia in the United States and make history of their own by playing a match on the world’s “largest” tennis court.”
This is not the first time Sony Ericsson has brought women’s tennis to places you would not expect. With Sony Ericsson’s creativity, women tennis players have had a chance to compete not only on the court, but on the streets in Toronto, in fountains in Cincinnati, on an island in the middle of the Arabian Sea, in front of Rome’s iconic St. Peter’s Cathedral, on car rooftops in Florida’s South Beach and deep underground in Madrid, on the tracks of one of the Spanish capital’s busiest Metro stations. Sony Ericsson style has helped energize the fan experience, attract a wider interest to tennis and provide unique opportunities to the stars of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. For photos of Sony Ericsson stunts, please visit the gallery.
