Czech Republic, Romania, and Bulgaria partner with Universal Tennis as new host nations with up to 40 events totaling more than $1 Million in prize money planned in Europe in 2021
(Palo Alto, CA) - Universal Tennis and three national Federations (Czech Tennis Federation, Romanian Tennis Federation, and the Bulgarian Tennis Federation) announced the expansion of the European segment of the 2021 UTR Pro Tennis Tour (PTT).
PTT Europe will feature up to 40 events (men and women) in select venues across Europe in 2021. The growth of these events of the PTT is a significant element of the three-year global commitment from Universal Tennis and their $20M investment to create nearly 450 new tennis events around the globe. Each tournament will provide a minimum of $25,000 USD in financial commitment and create more opportunities for thousands of aspiring professional players with a UTR rank of 200-2000 in the world.
The UTR Pro Tennis Tour offers an innovative format, providing a broadened pathway for elite players by creating more opportunities to compete, improve their game and support themselves financially. All events will be single-gender, singles only, entry based on Universal Tennis Rating (UTR), and feature a player group round-robin followed by a World Cup-style playoff format. This format guarantees more player competition and results will count for UTR, the world’s most accurate global tennis rating system.
“We are excited to expand the UTR Pro events in Europe. The UTR Pro Tennis Tour was founded to create a development tour to support players, coaches, organizers, and Federations worldwide. Over the past six months, Universal Tennis has worked through the challenges created by COVID to develop a global tour to provide safe, local opportunities for developing players to compete and earn prize money,” said Mark Leschly, Universal Tennis Chairman and CEO.
Similar to Tennis Australia and the USTA, Universal Tennis is working with these European Federations to develop opportunities and a competitive calendar for players in their nations.
The 2021 PTT Europe 2021 schedule kicks off on January 24th in Barcelona Spain. For more information on the PTT schedule, please click here. For more information on the UTR Pro Tennis Tour, calendar, prize money, event format, and to register for events, click here.
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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 opportunities. Universal Tennis is the owner and organizing body of the UTR Pro Tennis Tour (PTT), with responsibility for its Rules and Regulations, Code of Conduct, Tournament Format, and related streaming and commercial rights. We partner with Federations and organizers to bring PTT tournaments to life. The UTR Pro Tennis Tour was started in 2021 to create a development tour to support players. With fewer events and matches and substantially reduced prize money, aspiring professional players are increasingly struggling in pursuit of their dreams. Working with host venues and national Federations, UTR provides additive and complimentary event opportunities to help emerging players and the broader tennis ecosystem.
About Universal Tennis
The mission of Universal Tennis is to connect and grow the sport with innovative events and a global digital marketplace centered around level-based play. The Universal Tennis Engagement Platform is anchored by the UTR Rating, the world’s most accurate singles and doubles tennis rating system. Universal Tennis provides the tools and solutions to make the UTR Rating relevant and valuable to players, coaches, and organizers in their local tennis communities. 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.