News

White Plains, N.Y., June 29, 2009 – The USTA announced today the launch of OlympusUSOpenSeries.com, which will feature enhanced content and increased integration with social media websites. The website will also serve as an umbrella network for the individual tournament sites, establishing OlympusUSOpenSeries.com as the primary information hub for the Olympus US Open Series.

As part of the USTA’s effort to consistently increase the user-friendliness of its advanced media entities, OlympusUSOpenSeries.com will feature an all new design and new capabilities including an enhanced video player and increased content covering all Olympus US Open Series tournaments. The site will also feature a number of promotional options and contests in which fans can participate.

To bring the Olympus US Open Series to a broader audience, OlympusUSOpenSeries.com will feature an increased focus on utilizing social media tools. The site will link to US Open-branded areas on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Sling. By following the Series via Twitter (www.twitter.com/usopen) or becoming a fan via the official Olympus US Open Series Facebook Fan page, fans will receive news updates, ticket information, TV schedules and more. Additionally, OlympusUSOpenSeries.com will aggregate Twitter content from tennis fans around the globe through Twackle – a service provided in conjunction with Octagon.

The USTA will also use its US Open-branded Twitter channel to conduct two national sweepstakes. For the first sweepstakes, channel followers who tweet “why they love tennis” will be eligible to win a pair of tickets to the 2009 US Open. The second sweepstakes will incorporate a scavenger hunt in Olympus US Open Series tournament markets as well as New York City, where channel followers will have the opportunity to find free pairs of tickets to attend the local Series event and/or the US Open.

In addition, OlympusUSOpenSeries.com will link with the USTA’s video syndication partners, including YouTube and Sling, both of which will feature regular updates including video interviews and the award-winning Series promotional spots.

“OlympusUSOpenSeries.com represents yet another avenue for the USTA to bring fans closer to the Olympus US Open Series, one of tennis’ most exciting stretches of the season,” said Phil Green, Senior Director, Advanced Media, USTA. “Today’s sports fans want their information delivered to them where they want it, when they want it. By leveraging all the social media and technological opportunities available, OlympusUSOpenSeries.com delivers on that promise to fans of the Olympus US Open Series.”

In an effort to make navigation between the series events easier and allow users to find the most critical localized information most efficiently, OlympusUSOpenSeries.com will serve as an umbrella website which will link to the individual websites of all series events. OlympusUSOpenSeries.com, as well as the individual websites, will all feature an integrated brand campaign, highlighted by “It Must Be Love”, the official slogan for the 2009 US Open and Olympus US Open Series.

To help increase the Olympus US Open Series overall brand presence and awareness, the USTA will now manage the official tournament websites for five of the tournaments in three locations – the LA Tennis Open (www.latennisopen.com), The Western and Southern Financial Group Masters and Women’s Open (www.cincytennis.com), and Pilot Pen Tennis Men’s and Women’s events (www.pilotpentennis.com). All three of these robust websites will be able to leverage all of the social media, syndication and video tools available at OlympusUSOpenSeries.com.

For the second consecutive year, Olympus will be sponsoring its “Capture the Action” Contest, in which on-site visitors at each event will be able to borrow Olympus cameras to capture the action from around the grounds. OlympusUSOpenSeries.com users as well as the Series’ Twitter followers and Facebook fans will vote for the best photo of each tournament from the list of daily on-site winners.