News

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The USTA announced today that the city of San Diego and the San Diego Sports Arena have been selected to host the 2010 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Final between the United States and Italy, November 6-7. This will mark the first time the Fed Cup Final has been played in the United States since 2000, when the U.S. won their record 17th Fed Cup title.

“We are very excited that San Diego will be hosting the 2010 Fed Cup Final,” said U.S. Fed Cup Captain Mary Joe Fernandez, who has led the team to consecutive World Group Finals in her first two seasons as captain. “The area always has been supportive of women’s tennis. We look forward to playing in front of a large, enthusiastic, and patriotic crowd and hope to use the home-court advantage as we try to bring the Fed Cup title back to the U.S.”

“We could not be more proud of our Fed Cup team’s achievement of reaching the final for a second consecutive year” said Lucy Garvin, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA. “We look forward to bringing this world-class event to San Diego, a city with a long and rich tennis history. With the help of San Diego’s wonderful and enthusiastic fans, we look forward to adding another chapter to that history by winning the 2010 Fed Cup title.”

The event is being organized, staged and promoted by the USTA. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale to the general public beginning in August. For more information, fans can call the U.S. Fed Cup hotline at (888) 334-8782 or visit usta.com/fedcup.

The 2010 Fed Cup Final was one of the most sought-after tennis events ever in the United States. San Diego was one of 10 cities to bid for the opportunity to host the event.

“We’re enormously proud of this opportunity to host such a world-class sporting event,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. “Not only is this terrific news for all tennis lovers in San Diego, but it also gives us a chance to showcase the vibrancy of this great city to the international community.”

The San Diego Sports Arena will be hosting Fed Cup for the first time. The venue also was the site for the 1989 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal between the United States and France, and will become the eighth U.S. venue to host both a Davis Cup and Fed Cup tie.

“The San Diego Sports Commission is thrilled and proud to once again be selected to host one of the most prominent international tennis events in the world with Fed Cup,” said Al Kidd, President, San Diego Sports Commission. “This will pose a great opportunity for the San Diego tennis community to embrace such a prestigious event. The international television exposure fits into our organization’s work and will further illustrate why San Diego is chosen for such esteemed world events.”

This will be the second consecutive Fed Cup Final (and 11th overall meeting) between the U.S. and Italy. The Italians, who are expected to be led by 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, are in the Fed Cup Final for the fourth time in five years. The U.S. leads the overall series 9-1, but Italy defeated the U.S., 4-0 in the 2009 Fed Cup Final in Reggio Calabria, Italy. The U.S. is 35-3 all-time in Fed Cup ties played in the U.S., and is 6-1 in Fed Cup Finals played at home.

This will be the first Fed Cup tie played in the San Diego area since the 2008 World Group quarterfinal, when the U.S. defeated Germany 4-1 in La Jolla. The U.S. has never lost in seven previous Fed Cup ties contested in the state of California.

In 1989, when the San Diego Sports Arena hosted the Davis Cup quarterfinal between the U.S. and France, Andre Agassi and John McEnroe each won two singles matches to help lead the U.S. to a 5-0 victory.

Fed Cup by BNP Paribas is the largest annual international team competition in women’s sports, with 87 nations entered in 2010. The event was established in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ITF. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Fed Cup. Turismo Madrid (Official Tourist Destination) and BoscoSport (Official Clothing Sponsor) are international sponsors, and Wilson Sporting Goods (Official Ball) is an international partner.

The United States leads all nations with 17 Fed Cup titles – the last coming in 2000 – and is one of eight nations which competing for the 2010 Fed Cup title as part of the World Group. For more information, including access to player and historical Fed Cup records, please go to usta.com/fedcup or fedcup.com.

The Tennis Channel will present live daily coverage of the U.S. vs. Italy Fed Cup final.

Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Fed Cup team.