ITF Press Release, Nov 16, 2011: The ITF announced today that it has renewed its sponsorship agreement with NEC Corporation as title sponsor of the Wheelchair Tennis Tour and year-end Wheelchair Tennis Masters for a further two years, 2012-13 (NEC extends sponsorship).
NEC celebrated 20 years of partnership with the ITF in 2011. The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour, organised by the ITF, originated in 1992 with 11 international tournaments, but has grown to its current total of over 170 tournaments in more than 40 countries offering over $1 million in prize money. The NEC Tour includes the wheelchair tennis events at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters was started in 1994 as the official year-end singles championship for the sport’s leading players, and currently features the top eight men and women, and top four quad athletes. Last weekend Dutch world No. 1 Esther Vergeer won her 14th consecutive women’s title at the event’s new venue in Mechelen, Belgium. Stephen Houdet of France and Noam Gershony of Israel won their first Masters titles in the men’s and quad categories respectively.
ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “We are grateful for the continued support of the NEC Corporation, which has been a loyal and hardworking partner of the ITF’s wheelchair tennis activities. Its commitment and enthusiasm has helped wheelchair tennis become one of the fastest growing Paralympic sports, and we look forward to the ongoing expansion of the Wheelchair Tennis Tour.”
Hitoshi Suzuki, General Manager of Social Contributions and CSR Promotions, NEC Corporation, said, “As one of the leading global ICT companies, ICT for everyone is at the core of NEC’s beliefs, but we believe that meaningful community involvement is needed in addition to business pursuits. Sport for everyone is as important as ICT for everyone in helping create a society with much more diversity. This is the key reason that NEC has been sponsoring wheelchair tennis for many years.”
About NEC Corporation:
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross-utilise the company’s experience and global resources, NEC’s advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at www.nec.com.
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