NEW YORK, May 18, 2009 – InsideOut Sports & Entertainment announced today the full field of players who will join Andre Agassi at the
2009 Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships in Surprise, Ariz., to be played Oct. 8-11. Completing the eight-player field will be Hall of Famers Jim Courier and Mats Wilander, 2003 Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis, 1992 Olympic silver medalist Wayne Ferreira, 1986 French Open finalist Mikael Pernfors and former U.S. Davis Cup standouts Aaron Krickstein and Jimmy Arias. Tickets for the event, which will mark the Outback Champions Series tournament debut for Agassi, are on sale starting today and can be purchased at Ticketmaster, by calling 800.745.3000, on site at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex or by visiting . The Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships is one of eight events on the 2009 Outback Champions Series, the global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over. The tournament will be an eight-player, single-knock-out event with the winner earning $60,000. Andre Agassi During his 21-year ATP career, Agassi won 61 career singles titles, including two U.S. Open titles (1994, 1999), four Australian Open titles (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003), Wimbledon in 1992 and the French Open in 1999. He also won the Olympic Gold Medal in men’s singles in 1996 and helped the U.S. to victories in the Davis Cup in 1990, 1992 and 1995. Wilander, Philippoussis, Pernfors and Krickstein will all be making their first appearances in Surprise, while Courier, Ferreira and Arias will be competing in the event for the second straight year. At last year’s debut event in Surprise, John McEnroe won the singles title, defeating Todd Martin 3-6, 7-6 (3), (11-9 Champions Tie-Breaker) in the title match. Pete Sampras won the opening event on the 2009 Outback Champions Series, defeating McEnroe in the final of the Champions Cup Boston in February. McEnroe won the second event of the year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, defeating Courier in the final. Sampras won his second title of the year at the Del Mar Development Champions Cup in Los Cabos, Mexico, defeating Patrick Rafter in the final. Courier won his first title of the 2009 season in April at the Cayman Islands, defeating Arias in the final. Newport, R.I. (August 20-23), Charlotte (Sept. 24-27) and Dubai, U.A.E. (Nov. 18-21) will also host Outback Champions Series events later this year. Courier leads the current Stanford Champions Rankings on the Outback Champions Series with 2000 points, followed by Sampras with 1600 points and McEnroe with 1300 points. Arias sits at a career-high No. 4 Outback Champions Series ranking with 1050 points, followed by Pat Cash with 700 points at No. 5 and Philippoussis at No. 6 with 600 points. Wilander, Pernfors and Rafter are tied at No. 7 with 500 points, while Martin rounds out the top 10 with 400 points. Founded in 2005, the Outback Champions Series features some of the biggest names in tennis over the last 25 years, including Agassi, Sampras, McEnroe, Courier and others. To be eligible to compete on the Outback Champions Series, players must have reached at least a major singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world or played singles on a championship Davis Cup team. The Outback Champions Series features eight events on its 2009 schedule with each event featuring $150,000 in prize money as well as Champions Series points that will determine the year-end Stanford Champions Rankings No. 1.
InsideOut Sports + Entertainment is a New York City-based independent producer of proprietary events and promotions founded in 2004 by former world No. 1 and Hall of Fame tennis player Jim Courier and former SFX and Clear Channel executive Jon Venison. In 2005, InsideOut launched its signature property, the Outback Champions Series, a collection of tennis events featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including “Legendary Night” exhibitions, charity events and tennis fantasy camps such as the annual “Ultimate Fantasy Camp”. Through 2008, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment events have raised over $4 million for charity. For more information, please log on to or www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.