A new collaboration between Denmark and Universal Tennis plans to host up to 40 events totaling $1 million USD in prize money in Europe in 2021
(Palo Alto, CA) - Universal Tennis, Leschly Tennis Foundation, and the Danish Tennis Federation announced a partnership to expand the European segment of the 2021 UTR Pro Tennis Tour (PTT) into Scandinavia.
The UTR Pro Tennis Tour is an innovative format in international tennis that creates more opportunities for aspiring professionals to compete and earn prize money. The single-gender, singles-only events will base entry on Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) and feature a round-robin stage followed by a bracket-style playoff.
The UTR Pro Tennis Tour tournaments in Denmark are scheduled to begin on May 24 for women at B93 in Copenhagen and on June 14 for men in Hørsholm Rungsted Tennis Club. The Danish tournaments will be the first in Scandinavia and are part of the European segment of the PTT with events in Spain, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Romania..
Each tournament will provide a minimum of $25,000 USD in financial commitment and create more opportunities for players with a UTR ranking of 200-2000.
“We are excited to continue the expansion of the UTR Pro Tennis Tour in Europe. Universal Tennis wants to collaborate with associations all over the world, and our partnership with the Danish Tennis Association has been established for the benefit of the players and the sport,” said Mark Leschly, Chairman and CEO of Universal Tennis.
At the Danish Tennis Association, Director Emil Bødker is happy with the prospects of getting professional tournaments to the country.
“First of all, we are really happy that our best players can have more good matches at a high level at home. Secondly, it is good for the cohesiveness of tennis in Denmark that the DTF and Universal Tennis collaborated on the terms of the tournaments, so that the players have the opportunity to prioritize individual tournaments,” said Bødker.
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About UTR Pro Tennis Tour (PTT)
The UTR Pro Tennis Tour officially began on January 1, 2021, with a three-year commitment of over $20M to support tennis globally with prize money, venue support, technology, logistics, and competitive play opportunity. Universal Tennis initiated the UTR Pro Tennis Tour pilot in the Spring/Summer of 2020 in an effort to promote safe competition in players’ home countries as ATP/WTA and ITF events were canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through established safety guidelines and protocols, technology to streamline operations, limited on-site personnel, and cut costs to pass savings on in prize money to the players, the innovative and accessible UTR Pro Tennis Tour was born.
About Universal Tennis
The mission of Universal Tennis is to make tennis more affordable, accessible and fun for all players, regardless of age, gender, level, and socioeconomic status. The UTR Engagement Platform is anchored by the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR), the world’s most accurate singles and doubles tennis rating system; and provides the tools and solutions to make the Universal Tennis Rating relevant and valuable to players, coaches, and organizers in their local domain. Universal Tennis is creating opportunities and pathways for players from all over the world, in all stages of life, to find better matches and unlock a more fun and flexible tennis experience. Go to UniversalTennis.com to sign up, activate your player profile and join the global tennis community. Watch our video and connect on social @UniversalTennis to learn more.
Media Contacts
Universal Tennis: Ben Makarenko, bmakarenko@universaltennis.com
Danish Tennis Federation: Morten Lyngbæk, morten@lyngbaek.dk