On-Court Coaching, New Calendar and Ranking System for 2009 Tennis Season

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour announced on Wednesday its landmark 2009 Roadmap calendar, featuring the most sweeping reforms in Tour history to the circuit structure.

Among the changes expected for 2009 are on-court coaching at all events, a streamlined and healthy calendar, and a new rankings formula.

The reforms are designed to create a more fan friendly and healthier structure to more consistently deliver stars to top events and reduce player withdrawals.

“With the Roadmap reforms, 2009 will see the strongest women’s professional tennis product in the sport’s history,” said Larry Scott, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

“Fans will be able to watch more stars and rivalries on the game’s biggest stages, and follow a shortened and streamlined season that unlocks the full value of women’s tennis. The fan, player and commercial partner experience will benefit significantly through more combined events, a calendar that keeps our players healthier, world-class facilities and more equal prize money events than ever before. These reforms will help lift tennis as a whole to new heights.”

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams is one of the players lauding the new changes.

“The Roadmap calendar is a great example of players and tournaments working together to make our sport better for fans, better for players and better for tournaments,” said tennis champion and Players’ Council member Venus Williams.

“I’m proud to have been a part of a collaborative process that will result in what we hope will be the Tour’s best ever structure and product.”

Cornerstones of the 2009 Roadmap calendar

Longer Off-Season
- 30% increase in off-season (from 7 to 9 weeks, with season to end in October)

Streamlined Calendar Structure
- 20 Premier events featuring top players (reduced from 26 Tier I/II events previously), including:
+ 4 Premier, mandatory, $4.5 million equal prize money combined events anchoring calendar in Indian Wells, at Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Mutua Madrilena Madrid and China Open in Beijing
+ 15 other Premier events, including $2 million tournaments in Dubai, Rome, Cincinnati, Toronto and Tokyo, and other top events in Paris, Charleston, Stuttgart, Stanford, Los Angeles, Sydney, Berlin, Eastbourne, New Haven and Moscow
+ Season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, featuring equal prize money of $4.45 million
- 30 International tournaments, culminating in season-ending Commonwealth Bank International Tournament of Champions

Healthier Calendar
- Longer off-season, and more in-season breaks for players (e.g., post-Wimbledon)
- Player commitment reduced by 23%, from 13 to 10 tournaments for top players
- Limitation on top player ability to play tournaments outside of 20 Premier events

Record Prize Money
- 39% increase in Tour prize money from 2006 – 2009

Equal Prize Money
- Equal prize money at 4 Grand Slams, 4 Premier cornerstone events (Indian Wells, Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Mutua Madrilena Madrid, China Open in Beijing), Barclay Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai, and year-end Sony Ericsson Championships

Record Investment
- $710 million in new stadium facility investments, including world-class new stadiums in China and Madrid
- $84 million in year-end Sony Ericsson Championships deals in Doha 2008-2010 and Istanbul 2011-2013

More Combined/Back-to-Back Events
- 31% of events will be combined men/women
- 46% of events will be either combined or back-to-back in 2009

Revenue Sharing
- Tennis’ first ever revenue sharing to see players share in tournament revenue growth, and link player commitment to increases in prize money

China
- Major Tour presence and expansion into China market, with China Open as one of the four cornerstones of the Roadmap calendar, and a new Asia-Pacific Tour HQ in Beijing

New Ranking System
- Best 16 results and more directly linked to the Tour’s top events by awarding of “zero pointers” for any missed Premier commitment tournament, Grand Slam or the Sony Ericsson Championships

Stronger Penalties/Suspensions
- Suspension system for Top-10 players who miss Premier commitment tournaments and increased withdrawal fines

The 2009 Tour calendar features 54 tournaments (inclusive of the four Grand Slams) across 31 countries and record prize money of over $86 million.

The international breadth of tournaments includes 25 events in Europe, 15 events in the Americas and 14 events in the Asia-Pacific region. Seventeen combined events include Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing, Sydney, Moscow, Eastbourne, New Haven, Brisbane, s’Hertogenbosch, Estoril, Memphis and Acapulco, along with the four Grand Slams.

Eight back-to-back men/women events include Dubai, Tokyo, Rome, Cincinnati, Canada, Auckland, Bastad and Warsaw. 2009 will also see new tournaments in Madrid, Brisbane, Monterrey, Ponte Vedra Beach, Bastad, Warsaw and Osaka. Additionally, in 2011 Rome, Cincinnati and Canada will all be combined men/women events.

On Court Coaching
The 2009 Roadmap calendar will also feature on-court coaching at all events, following approval by the Tour Board at its US Open meeting of this fan entertainment innovation.

The decision to implement on-court coaching follows extensive testing of the concept and strong support from broadcasters, sponsors and tournaments and majority support from the Tour’s Players’ Council.

Under the new rule, players can request their coach once per set, either on a changeover or at the end of a set. In addition, a player may request her coach if her opponent has requested a medical timeout or change of attire/toilet break. All coaches called on court during televised matches will be required to wear a microphone to capture the coaching conversation for TV viewers.

The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Calendar

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