Yale University to take over New Haven Tennis Event for One Year

The New Haven ATP and WTA events in August, unable to lock down a major title sponsor for 2011 and beyond, now will have Yale University stepping in to lead a "bridge" sponsorship for next years  tournament, set for Aug. 22-28 at the Connecticut Tennis Center.

The New Haven Register first reported the bridge sponsorship plan.

Yale president Rick Levin, along with New Haven mayor John DeStafano, tournament chairman Butch Buchholz and tournament director Anne Worcester, will conduct a new conference to announce the details.

While the fact that the tournament will continue is good news -- both the men's and women's events are listed on the respective 2011 calendars of the ATP and WTA Tours -- Worcester has to be disappointed that the event was unable to land a title sponsor. She spent this year's Pilot Pen Tennis tournament entertaining as many as nine different companies that were interested in taking the place of the Pilot Pen.

Six of those companies were "solid prospects," according to Worcester. Two of those prospects were financial services companies, one was an international investment company, two others were insurance companies -- including one located in the state -- and one was a consumer goods product company.

A recent cause for optimism had to come from the fact that tournaments in both Los Angeles and San Diego had signed major title sponsors for their events this year.

This is good news for tennis fans and the U.S. Open Series.  This event needs to continue and it's great it is a combined men's and women's showcase leading right into the U.S. Open.

Yale has the money to sponsor this event, but let's hope a solid company steps up and puts their name on this event.

Update on Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 7:40PM by Rick C.Limpert

Now they announce it will be a women's only event.

New Haven’s professional tennis tournament is becoming a women’s-only event, with Yale University and a couple of major corporations replacing a single title sponsor.

The tournament, which had been one of just four sanctioned by both the men’s ATP Tour and the women’s WTA Tour, will be called the New Haven Open at Yale and will feature a field of 28 women, along with a doubles draw.

Yale, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Aetna and American Express have agreed to sponsor the tournament for the next three years, said Anne Worcester, the tournament’s director.