Dubai: Dubai Duty Free announced yesterday that a sponsorship deal with Barclays Bank will see $9 million injected into the Dubai Tennis Championships over the next three years.
Dubai Duty Free (DDF) the owners and organisers of the tournament have not signed a deal with a title sponsor since the event's inaugural year in 1993, when BMW came on board.
The tournament, which next year will run from February 25 to March 8 and carry a prize purse of $3 million, has attracted top players during its 16-year history and boasts recent US Open winners Roger Federer of Switzerland and Belgium's Justine Henin as its reigning champions.
Good deal
Speaking from Dubai Tennis Stadium, DDF managing director Colm McLoughlin said the tournament had waited a long time to find a title sponsor of the highest calibre.
"In the early days BMW was a co-sponsor of the men's event.
"With the introduction of the women's week we received a good deal of interest from potential title sponsors.
"However it has been essential for DDF to choose a title sponsor that would bring with them a strong brand identity with an international reputation for excellence."
The competition has been named the ATP Tournament of the Year for the last four years and director, Salah Tahlak, said the deal would allow even greater exposure for Dubai, the event and the DDF brand.
"As tournament director I take great delight when travelling to major tennis tournaments in the US, Europe and the Far East when players, fellow tournament directors and WTP and WTA officials congratulate me on the success of Dubai," he said.
Classification
"We are now looking forward to our partnership with Barclays to lift our event to even greater heights."
McLoughlin said that part of Barclay's $9 million would be used in an effort to boost the Tier II event to a higher classification.
And world No 1, Federer, fresh from his US Open win, sent his regards to the organisers and sponsors of the tournament.
"I always enjoy playing in Dubai," he said.
"It is one of my favourite tournaments of the year. I also spend quite a lot of time in Dubai to practice so it's almost like a second home event for me after Basel.
"Dubai is a very creative and fast-moving city and the tournament reflects it."
