The ATP, governing body of the men’s professional circuit, today announced a three-year premier global partnership agreement with Indesit by Merloni Elettrodomestici, one of the largest household appliance producers in Europe.

Under the partnership between the ATP and Indesit, Indesit is now the title sponsor of the ATP Entry Ranking and ATP Champions Race, which has been renamed the Indesit ATP Race.

‘We are extremely pleased to enter into this new, multi-year major partnership with Indesit, one of the finest companies in Europe,’ said Chris Clouser, CEO of ATP Properties and President, ATP Inc. ‘As title sponsor, Indesit creates even more excitement around the race to the year-end No. 1 position. The Indesit ATP 2004 Race and Indesit ATP Entry Ranking will no doubt capture the attention of millions of fans throughout the world.’

‘The Indesit ATP Entry Ranking and Indesit ATP Race are the standards in professional tennis by which player performances are measured around the world,’ said ATP CEO Mark Miles. ‘We’re pleased to add Indesit to these important measures.’

Introduced in 2000 to provide clarity and structure to the tennis season, the Indesit ATP Race is a calendar-year point race whereby all players start the year at zero and accumulate points throughout the season. Players accumulate points from 18 tournaments, which include the nine Tennis Masters Series and four Grand Slam tournaments plus five other results from International Series tournaments.

For more information contact:
Robin Hutchinson
Public Relations Manager
+1 904 285 8000