2007 ASB Classic Smashes All Records

2007 ASB Classic Smashes All Records

Results of a tournament review have ASB Classic organisers and sponsors breaking out the bubbly with January’s event confirmed as a record-breaker on all counts.

The annual review is conducted by Auckland Tennis in conjunction with the WTA Tour, the global body for women's tennis. It measures crowd attendances, TV audiences, website traffic and media coverage along with an assessment of event facilities, tournament organisation and player feedback.

The field assembled for this year's ASB Classic was the strongest to date in the event's 22-year history, featuring four players ranked inside the world's top-20 - Daniela Hantuchova, Marion Bartoli, Anatasia Myskina and top seed Jelena Jankovic.

New Zealand's tennis fans responded accordingly with over 22,000 spectators filling the stands at the ASB Tennis Centre. This level of attendance exceeded the previous record set in 2002 when Anna Kournikova pulled in the crowds.

While the audience around centre court set records, the sport's armchair supporters were not to be outdone. Statistics show average TV audiences for the 2007 ASB Classic were more than double the figures for the previous year. Unsurprisingly, the audience peaked for Marina Erakovic's epic second round contest with Eleni Danillidou, but ongoing interest over the week was such that TV statistics for the ASB Classic outstripped that of the men's Heineken Open for the first time ever.

Elsewhere, a revamped event website featuring the innovation of daily audio podcasts, live scoring and live video streaming also reached new heights, recording almost twice as much online activity than the previous best in 2006. The podcast series, a first for a WTA event, proved popular with the players who were quick to adapt to the tongue-in-cheek style of proceedings. Tennis fans obviously relished the chance to hear their idols interviewed in a more relaxed mode - web statistics show that the podcasts were downloaded over 57,000 times.

The tournament also elicited a record level of media coverage, with exposure in newspapers, radio, TV and websites exceeding the benchmark set the previous year. This coverage was instrumental in building the profile of the sport, with an independent survey commissioned by principle sponsor ASB showing that awareness of the event in 2007 was at an all-time high.

Operationally, the tournament continued to excel. The WTA comprehensively review all operational aspects of every tournament on the Tour calendar with the aim of highlighting areas for improvement by the organisers. The report of Fabrice Chouquet, the WTA supervisor at this year's ASB Classic, was notable for its simplicity and brevity:

"You run a wonderful tournament. It's the shortest report I'll ever have to make."

This enthusiasm for the ASB Classic was shared by the players who competed in it. This year's champion, Jelena Jankovic, was effusive about her first visit to New Zealand:

“It was the best week of my life. I can’t wait to come back. A fantastic tournament, so much fun,” said Jankovic.

The sentiment was shared by WTA Tour pin-up girl Daniela Hantuchova: "This tournament is as good as some of the Tier II events. It is so well run and everyone is so friendly.”

The ASB Classic has a reputation as a successful launch pad for the season. Last year's champion, Marion Bartoli, went on to win a further two tournaments in 2006 and secured her first ever top-20 ranking. Jankovic, who beat Vera Zvonareva in a thrilling final, has already broken into the world's top ten, while Zvonareva is also surging up the rankings, recently taking the scalp of world No1 Maria Sharapova in the process.

Zvonareva, whose comments at this year's ASB Classic regarding the WTA Tour's restructure initially provoked some uncertainty over the tournament's long term future, is delighted at confirmation that WTA want to retain the Auckland event on the calendar.

Zvonareva is a firm fan of the event. “I can’t believe the crowds and the atmosphere there. It’s bigger than many Tier III and some Tier II events.”

Tournament director Richard Palmer believes there are several reasons for the success

“The comments from the players and overseas officials are very gratifying. They are a testament to everyone who has input in to the ASB Classic from the volunteers through to the pro staff, media and sponsors everyone contributes to make the ASB Tennis centre the place to be in early January.

“I look forward to 2008 and the ASB Classic being an integral part of the restructured WTA tour from 2009 onwards.”

The 2008 ASB Classic will be held from 31st December to 5th January.

ENDS

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