News

MEMPHIS, TENN. — The Memphis Open presented by ServiceMaster today announced a series of new partnerships, events and fan enhancements for the upcoming 2015 event at the Racquet Club of Memphis. The ATP World Tour 250 tennis tournament will be played February 7-15 with a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw. The 2014 US Open finalist and two-time reigning Memphis champion Kei Nishikori is joined in the player field by the five top-ranked Americans — John Isner, Sam Querrey, Steve Johnson, Jack Sock and Donald Young. Last year’s singles finalist Ivo Karlovic of Croatia and Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, both ranked in the Top 25, have also joined this year’s player field.

All tickets are now available for purchase by either visiting memphisopen.com or calling 1-855-307-1981.

The new offerings at the 2015 Memphis Open include:

Charitable Partner St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®

The Memphis Open has named St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® as the official charity of the tournament. Located in Memphis, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened more than 50 years ago.

When fans purchase tickets through memphisopen.com, they will have the opportunity to “click to donate” to St. Jude in support of its life-saving work and help ensure that no family ever receives a bill from St. Jude for anything. To further commemorate the connection between St. Jude and the Memphis Open, spirited images celebrating the sport of tennis created by 11-year-old St. Jude patient and avid tennis player Sunny will be printed onto a tournament T-shirt and sold on site at the event, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.

World-Class Entertainment Production

The Memphis Open has enlisted Fiur Productions to serve as its new Executive Producer of Entertainment. The comprehensive entertainment production company, based in New York City, will help manage all events surrounding the tournament to boost the game-day experience for fans. The company, led by Michael Fiur, is known for producing large-scale live events, television specials, corporate, civic and sporting events, talent booking and theatrical productions. Fiur and his team have overseen the growth of entertainment at the US Open Tennis Championships since 2001. They have also produced more than 20 shows for the NFL’s Super Bowl, including their halftime shows and postgame Lombardi Trophy presentations.

New elements to be introduced by Fiur Productions for the 2015 Memphis Open include revamped Opening Night festivities on Monday, February 9. The special night will feature performances by cast members from Disney’s THE LION KING on Stadium Court, as the stage production prepares to play at The Orpheum Theater February 3 through March 1. Throughout the tournament, veteran US Open public address announcer Andy Taylor will be helping keep fans informed of everything the Memphis Open has to offer. Also, there will be an in-stadium DJ, post-match on-court interviews with the players will be conducted, and fans will see musical entertainment that represents the very best in local talent.

Opening Night Exhibition

Prior to the matches on Opening Night (Monday, February 9) at Stadium Court, Tennis Hall of Famer and 1997 Memphis singles champion Michael Chang and former world No. 4 and 2002 Memphis singles finalist James Blake will entertain the crowd with a fun exhibition as part of the Monday night session ticket. In addition to the match, there is a limited number of tickets available for purchase (for $75 each) to “meet and greet” these two American tennis icons prior to their match, along with dinner and open bar.

“The M.O.” Fan Village and Social Media Tagboard

“The M.O.” is a new fan village where patrons will be offered the opportunity to shop, dine, drink and play. Each evening will also feature top musical entertainment as the very best in local talent will take the stage to perform prior to the night session. The new Memphis Open Social Media Tagboard will also be on display, where an 8×5 LED screen will be housed in “The M.O.” fan village, allowing patrons to stay connected to all the Memphis Open social chatter while on the grounds of the Racquet Club of Memphis. Fans can also follow all the news, action, fun and more by visiting memphisopen.com, @memphisopen on Twitter and Memphis Open on Facebook.

A Taste of the Memphis Open

The menu will be expanded at the Memphis Open to provide a unique and innovative culinary selection to fans throughout the tournament site. Available food offerings will range from upscale cuisine to the traditional barbecue classics. The tournament will also introduce a new signature cocktail this year, specially handcrafted by the Racquet Club of Memphis. Fans can cast their vote for their preferred drink among four Memphis favorites on the Memphis Open Facebook page. Voting ends January 15 at 7:00 p.m. CT and the winning cocktail will be made available onsite at the 2015 Memphis Open.

Memphis Open Merchandise

This year, an all-new line of clothing emblazoned with the new name, look and feel of the Memphis Open will be available, including adult hats and T-shirts, youth T-shirts, performance wear and other apparel items. As mentioned above, to further commemorate the connection between St. Jude and the Memphis Open, spirited images celebrating the sport of tennis created by 11-year-old St. Jude patient and avid tennis player Sunny will be printed onto a tournament T-shirt and sold on site at the event, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.

Court Enhancements

The Grandstand area will see a reconfiguration from two courts to one, with seating for more than 1,000 patrons and a reorientation of the court 90 degrees to provide a more player and fan-friendly atmosphere. A new, upgraded lighting system will also be put in place for Grandstand Court.

Ladies Day

On Wednesday, February 11, the Memphis Open will host an all new Ladies Day. Ticket packages for the day session include Get Pampered and Play for $150, which offers the opportunity to play doubles with the pros, a spa experience courtesy of Gould’s Spa and a reserved chair seat to see the matches, and the Champagne Mingle and Brunch package for $85, which includes a seated lunch, a players Q&A session, red-carpet photo opportunity for all guests and a reserved chair seat to see the matches.

Kids Field Trip Program

During tournament week, various schools around the Memphis community will be invited to the Racquet Club of Memphis each morning to participate in a program that focuses on four key areas: activity, nutrition, inspiration and education. The Kids Field Trip program will culminate on Friday morning, February 13, when the Memphis Open provides the kids access to all of its courts to participate in a fun-filled interactive lesson with USPTA teaching tennis pros.

In 2014, Tennis Rendezvous LLC, which is jointly owned by the United States Tennis Association and Golden Set Holdings LLC, purchased the U.S. Indoor National Championships and renamed it the Memphis Open – with the inaugural Memphis Open taking place in February 2015 at the Racquet Club of Memphis. The event is one of the longest-running American tournaments on the ATP World Tour and the only indoor ATP event contested in the United States.

The present incarnation of professional tennis in Memphis officially kicked off in 1976, with a tournament won by Vijay Armitraj. In 1977, the tournament was designated as the U.S. Indoor National Championships. Tennis legend Björn Borg walked away with the title that year, and subsequent men’s singles champions include Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras — for a total of nine year-end world No. 1s. Doubles champions include three of the greatest tandems of the Open era: Bob and Mike Bryan, Ken Flach and Robert Seguso, and Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, among others.

For more information, contact:

Chris Widmaier, Managing Director, Corporate Communications, USTA, (914) 696-7284, [email protected]