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Peoria, Illinois — There was something shady going at the Valencia Open 500 in Spain. During this ATP World Tour tournament, that riveted Europe with some smashing tennis, spectators noticed that all the line judges were wearing sunglasses during this indoor tournament.

For the first time in the history of professional tennis, tournament officials negotiated a relationship with Maui Jim, Inc., the world’s fastest growing manufacturer of premium polarized sunglasses, to be the Official Sunglass Supplier of the tournament. In a round of testing of various lenses from the company, the tournament officials recognized that the sunglasses could cut glare from the indoor lights, enhancing depth perception and contrast on the court. Line judges were allowed to test various lens options, and individually chose to wear Maui Jim sunglasses during the tournament.

“This is a first for any sunglasses manufacturer,” said Linda Glassel, vice president of marketing for Maui Jim. “Our customers who play indoor tennis have known for a long time that wearing our HCL® Bronze or Maui HT™ lenses for indoor play makes your vision more clear and improves definition.”

Maui Jim’s PolarizedPlus®2 technology is unique in the eye wear industry. Each sunglass is fabricated with digital precision for the widest, clearest field of view. All lenses have up to 9 layers of protection built into each lens to reduce 99.9 percent of harmful glare from above, below and behind each lens. This filter also blocks glare from any flat, smooth, or shiny surfaces. Anti-reflective treatments are specifically designed to eliminate eye fatigue. The company’s UV ray reduction cuts 100 percent of UVA and UVB rays. Unique, bi-gradient mirror technology adds protection from light through the top and bottom of each lens – basically, the sunglasses “squint” for the wearer.

PolarizedPlus®2, not only reduces glare, but produces true, vivid colors. Maui Jim uses three rare earth elements on its lenses which, when combined with the glare-protecting elements of each lens, produce significantly truer colors.

The company offers four lens choices, in 86 different frame styles, depending on playing conditions. Line judges at the Valencia 500 Open chose to wear either Maui Jim’s HCL Bronze lenses or Maui HT lenses because, in indoor conditions, both of these lenses enhance contrast. Maui HT lenses are particularly good for indoor play, with 25 percent visible light transmission and 75 percent light absorption, these lenses improve contrast and depth of field.

Maui Jim counts among its Ambassadors several of the top ATP and WTA touring pros, including U.S. #1 Mardy Fish, French #1 Gaël Monfils, German #1 Sabine Lisicki and International Coach, Roger Rasheed.

To debut its relationship with ATP line judges, Maui Jim held an on-grounds promotion and sunglasses fitting event that included an on-court session with Gaël Monfils.

For more information on Maui Jim, visit MauiJim.com or follow the company on Facebook or Twitter at @OfficialMauiJim.