LOS ANGELES – The Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto will host tennis legends John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and James Blake on May 17 at the RPIA Championship, one of ten events on the 2018 PowerShares Series champions tennis circuit.
The PowerShares Series is the North American tennis circuit for champions tennis players over the age of 30. The series of one-night tournaments features two one-set semifinal matches and a one-set final-round match.
This marks the second straight year Toronto has hosted the RPIA Championship after Mark Philippoussis defeated Andy Roddick in last year’s final at the Ricoh Coliseum.
The event starts at 7 pm and will kick off with Haas, the former world No. 2 and the silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games, taking on Blake, the former world No. 4 and member of the 2007 championship-winning U.S. Davis Cup team. McEnroe, the three-time Wimbledon and four-time U.S. Open champion, will then face Courier, the two-time French and Australian Open champion, followed by the singles final. For the fourth straight year on the PowerShares Series players will make their own line-calls with the assistance of electronic line-calling.
“Toronto is one of the world’s great sports towns and I’m looking forward to going back there to play,” said McEnroe. “I hope a lot of my Canadian fans can come out and watch.”
For more information and to purchase tickets, VIP packages and hit-with-the pros opportunities go to www.PowerSharesSeries.com
Local sponsors of the event are RPIA, Peerage Capital, Chestnut Park, Echelon Wealth Partners, Spin Master, MatchPoint Productions
The official charity of the event will be the Doug Philpott Inner-City Children’s Tennis Fund (http://philpottchildrenstennis.ca/). An “RPIA Kids Clinic” for Philpott Children’s Tennis will also be held with two competing players on the Mattamy Athletic Centre court from 5-6pm. “As title sponsor, we are pleased to be able to partner with the Philpott Children’s Tennis Fund to offer these children the unique opportunity to take part in a private clinic with some of the world’s top tennis players and encourage their love for the sport,“ said Richard Pilosof, CEO of RPIA.
The 2018 PowerShares Series will kick off on April 7 in Charleston, S.C. with ten events including events alongside ATP and WTA events in Charleston, S.C., Newport, R.I., Winston-Salem, N.C., and New Haven, Conn. The full 2018 PowerShares Series schedule, with player fields, is as follows:
2018 PowerShares Series Schedule:
- April 7: Charleston, SC (Family Circle Tennis Center) – Andy Roddick, Michael Chang, Tommy Haas and Mark Philippoussis
- May 5, 6: Kohala Coast, HI (Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows) – John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and Mardy Fish
- May 17: Toronto, ON (Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre) – John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and James Blake
- July 22: Newport, R.I. (International Tennis Hall of Fame) – Lleyton Hewitt, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and James Blake
- August 19: Winston-Salem, N.C. (Wake Forest University) – Players TBA
- August 23, 24: New Haven, CT (Yale University) – Players TBA
- October 4: St. Louis, MO (Chaifetz Arena) – Players TBA
- October 6: Houston, TX (Tudor Fieldhouse) – Players TBA
- October 21: Los Angeles, CA (Sherwood Country Club) – Players TBA
- TBD: Denver, CO – Players TBA
Each PowerShares Series event also features special VIP experiences, including hit-with-the-pros opportunities and special back-stage access. All ticket, experience and event information can be found at www.PowerSharesSeries.com.
In 2017, the year-long points championship was decided in the final match of the season when Andy Roddick defeated James Blake in the Los Angeles final at the Sherwood Country Club. Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion and world No. 1, won four PowerShares Series titles in all in 2017, winning in Birmingham, Ala., Chicago, Lincoln, Neb., and Los Angeles. Blake, the former world No. 4 and former U.S. Davis Cup star, won PowerShares Series titles in Charleston, S.C., Winston-Salem, N.C. and in Lynchburg, Va.
In 2016, Mark Philippoussis won the PowerShares Series points title with 1600 points and tournament titles in Memphis, Tulsa, Newport, Winston-Salem and New Haven. Roddick finished in second place, also earning 1600 points but losing the head-to-head tiebreaker with Philippoussis 5-2, while winning titles in Charleston, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Orlando. Blake finished in third place with 1100 points and tournament titles in Chicago, Portland and Brooklyn.
In 2015, Roddick won the PowerShares Series points title in his second year of competing on the series with 1,600 points. Roddick won a record eight events Los Angeles, Lincoln, Chicago, Austin, Little Rock, Dallas, Richmond and Minneapolis. Blake finished second in the points rankings with 1,200 points, winning events in Boston and Cincinnati. Philippoussis finished in third with 1,100 points, winning titles in Salt Lake City and Vancouver. The year before in 2014, McEnroe won the points title for the first time in the nine-year history of Champions Series tennis by winning events in Kansas City, Indianapolis, Nashville and Charlotte.
ABOUT INSIDEOUT SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
InsideOut Sports + Entertainment is a Los Angeles based 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 Champions Series, a collection of tournaments featuring the greatest names in tennis over the age of 30. In addition, InsideOut produces many other successful events including “Legendary Night” exhibitions, The World Series of Beach Volleyball and numerous corporate outings. Since inception, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment has raised over $4 million for charity. In 2014, InsideOut Sports + Entertainment merged with Horizon Media, the largest privately held media services agency in the world. For more information, please log on to www.InsideOutSE.com or www.powersharesseries.com or follow on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
ABOUT HORIZON MEDIA
Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest and fastest growing privately held media services agency in the world. The company was founded in 1989, is headquartered in New York and has offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Chicago. Horizon Media was chosen as 2011 Independent Media Agency of the Year by Mediapost, 2010 U.S. Media Agency of the Year by Adweek, Brandweek, and Mediaweek as well as by Ad Age and as one of the world’s ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company in 2011. In 2012, Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder, was honored by Advertising Age as Industry Executive of the Year. Most recently, in 2014, Bill Koenigsberg was named 4As Chair of the Board and is the first person from a media agency to hold this prestigious position in the 100 year history of the 4As, the marketing industry’s leading trade association. The company’s mission is “To create the most meaningful brand connections within the lives of people everywhere.” By delivering on this mission through a holistic approach to brand marketing, Horizon Media has become one of the largest and fastest-growing media agencies in the industry, with estimated billings of over $5.3 billion and over 1,200 employees. The company is also a founding member of Columbus Media International, a multi-national partnership of independent media agencies. For more information, please visit horizonmedia.com.
About PowerShares by Invesco
PowerShares by Invesco is leading the Intelligent ETF Revolution® through its family of more than 140 domestic and international PowerShares exchange-traded funds (ETFs). PowerShares is the provider of PowerShares QQQ, one of the earliest and largest ETFs in the industry. QQQ trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market where innovation and technology expertise have created a world-recognized marketplace for the world’s biggest and best technology companies. PowerShares ETFs seek to outperform traditional benchmark indexes while providing advisors and investors access to an innovative array of focused investment opportunities. PowerShares has US franchise assets exceeding $110 billion as of December 30, 2016. For more information, please visit us at powershares.com or follow us on Twitter @PowerShares.
FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:
Randy Walker for the PowerShares Series
917 770 0843
