WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., July 23, 2013 – The 10th season of the Emirates Airline US Open Series, the
five-week North American summer tennis season that links nine ATP World Tour and WTA summer
tournaments to the US Open, launches this week with the men’s BB&T Atlanta Open and the
women’s Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif. Since its inception in 2004, the Emirates Airline
US Open Series has doubled television viewership and increased event attendance, while
generating new corporate partnerships for the sport. See the full summer TV schedule here.
Throughout the summer, the Series will feature nearly 200 live television hours on ESPN2, Tennis
Channel and CBS Sports. The Emirates Airline US Open Series premieres on television on
Thursday, July 25, from the Bank of the West Classic, with six hours on Tennis Channel. Television
coverage of the BB&T Atlanta Open begins on Friday, July 26, with four hours on ESPN2. Both
ESPN2 and Tennis Channel will air live coverage of each tournament’s semifinals on Saturday, with
ESPN2 airing both finals live on Sunday, July 28.
More than 200 of the game’s top players will compete during the Series for more than $40 million in
prize money. Additionally, through the Emirates Airline US Open Series Bonus Challenge, the USTA
will offer up to an additional $2.6 million in bonus prize money at the US Open to the top three men’s
and top three women’s singles finishers in the Emirates Airline US Open Series. The Emirates
Airline US Open Series Bonus Challenge has resulted in some of the largest paychecks in tennis
history for men ($2.4 million–Roger Federer, 2007) and women ($2.2 million–Kim Clijsters, 2005 and
2010). Last year, Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova captured the Emirates Airline US Open Series
titles.
The Emirates Airline US Open Series season will be supported again by a multi-million dollar
national marketing campaign, the EmiratesUSOpenSeries.com website and sponsor activation on
both the national and local levels. This is the second year Emirates Airline is serving as the title
sponsor of the Series, as well as the official airline of the US Open. The Emirates Airline US Open
Series is also supported by American Express, Chase, Citizen Watch Company and Esurance.
“As we enter our 10th season of the Series, it’s gratifying to know how far we’ve come in utilizing the
summer season prior to the US Open as a platform to showcase tennis to an increasing number of
television viewers, spectators and corporate partners,” said J. Wayne Richmond, General Manager
of the Emirates Airline US Open Series.