Tournament
History
The Indianapolis Tennis Championships traces its roots back to 1920, when the Western Open Championships were held for the first time at famed local tennis haven the Woodstock Country Club. During the early years of the tournament, the best local talent and many nationally ranked players came to Indianapolis to vie for the Western Open Championships title.
When the Open Era of tennis began in 1969, as the sport's popularity rose, Indianapolis became home to the nationally recognized U.S. Open Clay Court Championships.
By 1974, the sport was attracting such booming crowds that Indianapolis required a new venue to host the tournament. The Indianapolis Racquet Club (IRC), with eight newly constructed outdoor clay courts, made for an ideal venue and the tournament moved, temporarily, to the complex, which at the time housed the second-largest indoor facility in the country.
The transition to a state-of-the-art venue helped Indianapolis continue its tradition of showcasing tennis’ brightest stars.
The honor roll of past clay court competitors reads like a hall of fame program: Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Arthur Ashe, Ivan Lendl, Andres Gomez, Jose-Louis Clerc and many others came each year to chase a title on the green-clay courts at Indianapolis.
Over the next five years tournament organizers recognized the need for an even larger facility than that of the IRC, a venue that would solidify the city’s claim to fame.
Indianapolis is known as the “Amateur Sports Capital of the World.”
The dream of bringing Indianapolis to the forefront of the international tennis landscape became reality in 1979, when the Indianapolis Sports Center — now known as the Indianapolis Tennis Center, current site of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships — was constructed.
The 13-acre clay court tennis complex was considered state-of-the-art and one of the finest 9,000-seat stadiums on the tennis circuit.
The Indianapolis Sports Center hosted the U.S. Open Clay Court Championships until 1987, when it decided the complex should become a self-supporting, year-round tennis facility. As such, 14 of the 18 clay courts were resurfaced with Deco-Turf II, the same surface used at the U.S. Open. With the change in the surface came a change in the tournament’s name and date. The event became known as the U.S. Men’s Hardcourt Championships and gained the attention of the world’s best players as a premier warm-up stop on the road to the U.S. Open.
Stars like Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Goran Ivanisevic, Carlos Moya, Patrick Rafter, Gustavo Kuerten and Andy Roddick, along with many others, have flocked to Indianapolis over the years to tune up their game before the U.S. Open.
The tournament morphed once again in 1992 as its growing popularity led to Thomson Consumer Electronics to become the new title sponsor through its RCA brand. Thomson/RCA supported the Indianapolis Tennis Championships through 2006. RCA was the longest running title sponsor of a men’s professional tennis tournament in North America. Mike O’Hara executive vice president of Consumer Products Marketing and Sales Worldwide for Thomson said, “Our 12 year partnership not only provided us with the opportunity to showcase our brand and technology to millions of fans worldwide, but it also helped us raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the children and families benefiting from Riley Hospital for Children and many other Indiana charities.”
In 2007, the tournament changed its name once again. RCA ended its run as the title sponsor and the tournament became known as the Indianapolis Tennis Championships. The name changed, but the tournament stayed the same.
After 36 years of association with the event Eli Lilly and Co. raised their sponsorship to a presenting level for the 2008 and 2009 tournament. The tournament is now officially, known as the Indianapolis Tennis Championships presented by Lilly. At the time Sidney Taurel, then Lilly’s chairman and chief executive officer said, “As a company that is focused on helping people live longer, healthier lives, we know that exercise is a key component of success. This partnership is another step forward in helping our community get healthier.”
In addition to attracting the world’s best tennis players, the Indianapolis Tennis Championships holds the honored distinction of being named “Tournament of the Year” by the players on the ATP tour a record 11 times – 10 of those years being consecutive from 1988-1997 and the last honor coming in 2001. Through the support of hundreds of volunteers and with corporate sponsors like RCA and Lilly, the Indianapolis Tennis Championships has consistently staged world-class tennis for the past 17 years. The tournament’s organizers, its volunteer base and the thousands of fans who continue to come back year after year, have always maintained a “players-first” attitude that has helped ensure a high standard of excellence and a long life for professional tennis in Indianapolis.
Total Prize Money
$525,000
