IPTL will catch on, says COO

SINGAPORE — In the opening act of its inaugural season in the Philippines last weekend, the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) managed to pull in 28,000 fans. That is slightly more than half of what the 18,000-capacity Mall of Asia Arena in Manila was able to take over three days (Nov 28 to 30).

The ambitious tennis series, which features some of the sport’s top current and former stars, makes Singapore the second of its four-city tour, with action starting at 4.30pm today at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Responding to media queries on sales of tickets, with prices ranging from S$49 to S$280, IPTL chief operating officer Eric Gottschalk would only say sponsor DBS Bank was promoting the event and he was confident it will be near capacity for all three days of the event.

The series features four teams — Manila Mavericks, Indian Aces, UAE Royals and Singapore Slammers. But after failing to make a deep impact on Manila, it remains to be seen if the likes of multiple-Grand-Slam winners Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt and Tomas Berdych, who all play for the Slammers, will be able to pull in the crowds here.

But Gottschalk conceded the challenge is to get fans to understand the shorter new format, which the series is pioneering, before they warm up to it.

Among the innovative rules, each match has five sets of six games in each of the men’s and women’s singles, men’s and mixed doubles, and a legends match. The winning team is decided on the aggregate of games won in all the matches instead of sets, which is how tennis is traditionally played in its traditional form.

“It is a new format and people need to learn it,” said Gottschalk at the event’s media conference yesterday at the Shangri-La Hotel. “In Manila, it took people about a day to understand how it works and the players also needed to get around the new format.

“We also have the best commentators in the world to help television viewers and they are constantly trying to promote the new format with guest players in the studio.

“So, I don’t see too much of a problem and people will catch up on it very quickly.”

The Slammers lost all their matches in Manila and currently prop up the table. But if they put in a strong performance here and in the next two legs in Delhi and Dubai in the next two weeks, they can still fight for the US$1 million (S$1.3 million) prize.

Gottschalk believes the poor first-leg results for the Singapore team would not have a bearing on ticket sales here and is confident the stars are reason enough for fans to make their way to the Sports Hub arena, just as they did during the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals in October. “If what happened at the WTA Finals is any indication, as soon as the best players step on the court, you will have a full house. So, we hope that Agassi is going to bring really a lot of excitement to the game,” he said.

While fans are still warming up to the new format, it has been a hit for players who, Slammers coach Joshua Eagle said, enjoy the team camaraderie that is largely missing in tennis. “The players are loving it and are really enjoying being part of a team. We don’t have that much of it in tennis, apart from the Davis and Fed Cups. So, it is quite unique for them and I don’t think I would change anything in the format,” said the Australian.

Watch IPTL in Singapore from today to Thursday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. For ticketing and other information, please visit http://www.iptlworld.com.