Serena Williams and Sania Mirza will play at the Sony Ericsson International in Bangalore

Serena Williams and Sania Mirza will play at the Sony Ericsson International in Bangalore

After a successful second year of tennis sponsorship, Sony Ericsson increases its commitment to the sport by tying up with the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) to bring the Sony Ericsson International, a Sony Ericsson WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Tour event, to Bangalore. With the title sponsorship of the tournament in India, Sony Ericsson aims to further popularise and promote the sport of tennis in India, as it has been doing worldwide through the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. KSLTA is pleased to announce confirmed participation from Serena Williams and Sania Mirza for the tournament. This will be Serena’s first appearance in India and the talented player is set to enthral the Indian audience with her exciting power tennis.

Announced today at a press conference in Bangalore, Sony Ericsson International will sit alongside the company’s other tennis commitments: the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, which culminates in the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid in November, the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, also in November, and the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, to debut in March 2007.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Dee Dutta, Corporate Vice President and Head of Marketing at Sony Ericsson, said, “We are very pleased to become the title sponsor of the Sony Ericsson International in Bangalore. Serena Williams and Sania Mirza are two of the most talented players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and we are confident that they will be joined by other top international players at the tournament in February.” He added, “We are pleased with the rising popularity of tennis in India. There are many talented players in the country and this has been showcased by India’s excellent performance in tennis at the recently concluded Asian Games in Doha. Sony Ericsson International showcases Sony Ericsson’s commitment to the Indian market and we aim to be an integral part of the tennis movement in India.”

“Our association with tennis is about enabling people to explore their passions. Throughout the past two years of our tennis sponsorship we have combined our brand expertise and innovative thinking to provide something new and something different to tennis fans of all ages, and to extend the game beyond sport. We wish to do the same in India, one of our company’s most important and dynamic markets,” Dutta added.

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