Sony Ericsson Open Tickets

Sony Ericsson open
Sony Ericsson open
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held at Key Biscayne, in Miami, Florida. The event's current sponsored name is the Sony Ericsson open. The tournament is widely regarded as the most prestigious on the ATP and WTA tours, and was given the nickname "Fifth Grand Slam". Its importance is reflected by the WTA's decision to designate it a mandatory event, like the 4 Grand Slam tournaments.

The event was initially known as the Lipton International Players Championships. In 2000 there was a change of title sponsor and the event was renamed the Ericsson open. In 2002, the event became known as the NASDAQ-100 open. In 2007, the tournament was renamed the Sony Ericsson open in a deal where the company will pay $20 million over the next four years.

The event is part of the ATP Masters Series on the men's tour and is a Tier 1 event on the women's tour. The tournament is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. The event is currently held in March each year.

Given its size, history, and the fact that it is a combined event involving, both men and women, some people consider the Miami Masters to be the sixth most prestigious event on the ATP and WTA tours ? after the four Grand Slams and the Tennis Masters Cup / WTA Tour Championships.

The tournament was founded by former player Butch Buchholz. His original aim was to make the event the first major tournament of the year, and he dubbed it the "Winter Wimbledon". Buchholz approached the ATP and the WTA and offered to provide the prize-money and give them a percentage of the ticket sales and worldwide television rights in return for the right to run the tournament for 15 years. The two associations agreed.

The first tournament was held in February of 1985 at Laver's International Tennis Resort at Delray Beach, Florida. The prize money of US$1.8 million was surpassed only by Wimbledon and the US open at the time. (The event's prize-money has since grown to over US$6 million.) In 1986, the tournament relocated to Boca Raton. It moved to its permanent home at Key Biscayne in 1987.

Besides the four Grand Slam championships, the Miami Masters one of the few events on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tours where the main singles draw involves more than 64 players, and where main draw play extends beyond one week. 96 men and 96 women compete in the singles competition, and 32 teams compete in each of the doubles competitions. The event lasts for 12 days.In 2006, the tournament became the first event in the United States to utilize instant replay to allow players to challenge close line calls. Players were allowed two challenges per set, with an additional challenge allowed for tie breaks.

When Butch Buchholz established the event in 1985, it marked the first time in 56 years that a new two-week tournament featuring men and women was launched. On August 29, 2006, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications announced the signing of a four year contract to become the title sponsor of the Sony Ericsson open. With $7.54 million in prize money the Sony Ericsson open is currently the largest tournament in the world with Title Sponsorship. Located in Delray Beach (Laver's International Tennis Center) in 1985 and Boca Raton (Boca West) in 1986, the tournament found a permanent home in 1987 on Miami's Key Biscayne. In 1994, Miami-Dade County christened the Tennis Center at Crandon Park, a 30-acre expanse that is transformed each year from a public tennis facility into a full-fledged festival for the Sony Ericsson open. The Sony Ericsson open, considered one of the most prestigious titles in professional tennis, has been awarded "Tournament of the Year" by the ATP for five consecutive years and in eight of the last nine years overall. In 2004 the event was also named "Tournament of the Year" by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. In 1999, the tournament was purchased by IMG.