The ATP Tour and Altenis, a company being formed by
Lipton Championships Chair Butch Buchholz and former
Univision and Telemundo Exec Joaquin Blaya, are creating the
"Copa Ericsson," a challenger series to be played in South
America and modeled along the lines of golf's Nike Tour,
according to a report in the MIAMI HERALD. Copa Ericsson is
named for Ericsson Mobile phones, which will pay $1M in
prize money in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Lima,
Peru; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Guadalajara, Mexico, San Juan,
Puerto Rico, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Porto Alegre R.S.,
Brazil. Altenis will operate the series (MIAMI HERALD,
3/24). Copa Ericsson runs from September 22-December 2. TV
coverage has not been finalized (USA TODAY, 3/24).
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Looking for "better representation
within the ATP Tour," an association of European men's
players was formed last week, and Austrian Thomas Muster was
appointed to represent the players on the ATP Tour player
council, according to Ken Rodriguez of the MIAMI HERALD.
Players are reportedly "unhappy" that the ATP moved its
European office from Monte Carlo to London and there is
"concern" about a proposal to downgrade the status of the
Monte Carlo Open, one of the "most prestigious" clay-court
tournaments on the circuit (MIAMI HERALD, 3/24).
AT EASE: The Corel WTA Tour and the USTA have entered
into a year-long joint media training venture designed to
strengthen players' communication skills and make them more
comfortable working with the media. The program began this
week at the Lipton Championships and will continue
throughout the '97 season (WTA Tour).
