Tennis News Tidbits

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 10th March 2014

Tennis News Tidbits

epa04027717 Sloane Stephens of the United States returns to Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their third round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 18 January 2014. EPA/MADE NAGI |

City Of Indian Wells Expects To Benefit From Tennis Tournament

The city of Indian Wells receives an annual $5 million in economic value for the $351,000 it invests in the tournament, according to a report obtained by the Palm Springs newspaper, The Desert Sun.

That includes $700,000 in name recognition, and almost $2.5 million in various fees. The costs include $250,000 for naming rights.

The overall benefit to the region should be about $350 million if attendance reaches 420,000 as expected, according to tournament director Steve Simon.

HEAD Extends Partnership With Sloane Stephens

HEAD announced that Sloane Stephens will remain part of the HEAD tennis family until at least 2017.

The current No. 18 in the WTA singles world ranking and the No. 2 woman in the United States is no stranger to the company; the 20-year-old has been playing with HEAD racquets since her junior career days and was a part of the TEAM HEAD program working with juniors in over 40 countries.

Hantuchova Hopes For Help From New Coach Lundgren

Daniela Hantuchova will hope that newly appointed Swedish coach Peter Lundgren can help her recovery from a slump which has resulted in three straight defeats. The Slovak who once stood fifth on the WTA but now languishers at 34th and won the last of her six trophies last June on grass in Britain,

Lundgren has worked everywhere and counts as past clients Roger Federer. Stanislas Wawrinka plus grand slam winner Marcelo Rios and Marat Safin, plus Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis and current ATP hope Grigor Dimitrov. Hantuchova, 30, thrived in the early part of her career, twice winning the Indian Wells Masters.

Hantuchova revealed her choice on Twitter: “Also very happy to announce I’m going to work with Peter Lundgren, who’s coached the one and only @rogerfederer and many other great players! . . . there is so much I can learn from Peter and i have a lot of respect for what he has done with his players.”

Hantuchova last won a match on January 28 in Paris but has since lost to Maria Sharapova, Angelique Kerber and Ana Ivanovic.

She is a former singles champion of the tournament in Indian Wells.

— The USTA is launching a new ad campaign aimed at attracting younger players to the game. Created by advertising agency DDB New York, the campaign is named “Tennis Makes You.”

It touts the health and strength benefits of playing tennis, with one spot showing an otherwise skinny man holding up an arm bulging with muscles.

Topics: 10sballs, Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber, Atp, Australian Open, Daniela Hantuchova, GRIGOR DIMITROV, HEAD, Indian Wells, Maria Sharapova, Palm Springs, Peter Lundgren, Roger Federer, Sloane Stephens, Sports, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tennis, Tennis News, The Desert Sun, Wta