USTA, Citizen Watch Company of America to Extend Partnership

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced that it has come to an agreement with Citizen Watch Company of America to extend its long-standing partnership with the global timepiece brand.  The new deal, set to commence in 2015, will provide Citizen with expanded brand visibility throughout the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (NTC) grounds and an enhanced presence on US Open digital platforms, while continuing their position as the Exclusive Timekeeper for the tournament.  Citizen will also become the Official Timekeeper of the Emirates Airline US Open Series and will have a presence at all U.S.-based Series’ tournaments.  In addition to Citizen’s presence within the US Open and Emirates Airline US Open Series, the brand will be integrated into the USTA’s future "Home of American Tennis" within the Lake Nona region of Orlando, Florida.

“Citizen has been a valued partner of the US Open since 1993 and we are delighted that they will be on board through this next transformation of the National Tennis Center,” said Lew Sherr, Chief Revenue Officer of the USTA.  “We are also excited to expand Citizen’s integration with other USTA platforms and initiatives such as the Emirates Airline US Open Series and the new Home of American Tennis in Orlando.”

Jeffrey Cohen, President of Citizen Watch Company of America said “We are very pleased to build on our powerful relationship with the US Open.”  Cohen continued, “The spirit of this world renowned competition perfectly reflects the guiding principle of our brand: Better Starts Now.”

Citizen has been a sponsor of the US Open for twenty-two years and this new deal will take the relationship beyond the 50th Anniversary of the US Open Era which will occur in 2018.

 The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level, from local communities to the highest level of the professional game.  A not-for-profit organization with more than 750,000 members, it invests 100 percent of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking eight summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s national charitable foundation, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and helps underserved youth and people with disabilities. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.