The second season of the International Premier Tennis League presented by Qatar Airways officially began in

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1 The Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) brings together current champions, tennis legends and upcoming talent in a format that s never been seen before. Created to fulfil the increasing demand for top-level tennis in Asia, it s the first city-based professional league in the world, played in respective countries. Four teams participated in the inaugural season that kicked off in 2014 with Micromax Indian Aces walking away as the first ever IPTL winners. The second season of the International Premier Tennis League presented by Qatar Airways officially began in Kobe, Japan and culminated on Friday 4 th December, marking the first of five round robin tournaments that will also be held across Manila, New Delhi, Dubai and Singapore. The second week of the 2015 IPTL season will culminate in Manila on Tuesday 8 th December. With many of the world s greatest players set to play in the tour over the three weeks, a strong international demand exists for IPTL tickets this season.

2 The IPTL Player Draft for 2015 was held on 12th April 2015 in Dubai. Over 80 players were part of the pool, of which 37 were added to the franchise teams Philippines, Singapore, India, the UAE and, the newest addition to the season, Japan. This edition of the league which kicked off in Japan from 2nd December will conclude on 20th December According to viagogo, the world s largest ticket marketplace, the round robin matches in Manila and New Delhi are garnering the biggest demand. The cheapest International Premier Tennis League tickets are 3-day passes, which flirt near the $300 mark at both the Mall of Asia Arena and Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. Those prices will likely increase as the action heads to each respective city next week. Raising the stakes in its second year, the tour has expanded to include five franchises in Asia, up one from the four teams that participated in the inaugural tour in Joining the four original teams Indian Aces, Manila Mavericks, Singapore Slammers and UAE Royals are the Japan Warriors, who serve as the opening host at Kobe World Hall in Japan between December 2 and 4.

3 The Warriors current roster features big names like Maria Sharapova, No. 8 Kei Nishikori and iconic Russian tennis player Marat Safin, who won the U.S. Open in 2000 and Australian Open in The tour is now playing in Manila s Mall of Asia, where the Philippine Mavericks have received the hosting duties. With 3-day passes starting from $290 each on viagogo, Serena Williams will highlight the team s roster alongside player-coach Treat Huey, Richard Gasquet and Sabine Lisicki. Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi will welcome the next round of play between December 10 and 12. The Indian Aces take over as host and will be fronted by Rafael Nadal. Native players that will participate for the Aces include Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza. 3-day passes in New Delhi, which will be showcased by a match between Nadal and UAE captain Roger Federer on December 12, start from $323 on viagogo who is the official international ticketing partner of both the Phillipine Mavericks and Indian Aces. Following its stay in India, the 2015 IPTL will travel to Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium between December 14 and 16. Featuring Federer, Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic and Ana Ivanovic, the UAE Royals welcome the penultimate round of play before the tour plays its final leg in Singapore.

4 2015 s tour will wind down at Singapore Indoor Stadium from December 18 and 20. Perhaps the IPTL s biggest draw will be Roger Federer s match with the Singapore Slammers Novak Djokovic on December 18, one of the several marquee matches across the two-week tournament. Other notable players on Singapore s roster this year are Nick Kyrgios, Carlos Moya and Belinda Bencic. IPTL Format The IPTL teams compete in a customized round robin format of matches in each host country. The top two teams at the end of the round robin stage qualify for the final. The winner of the final is declared the champion. With an aim to make the matches and the league more competitive for all the teams, in its second season, the league has terminated the last set importance which gave the trailing team an opportunity to continue playing if they win the 5th set as played out in Season-I. In Season-II, the 5th set continues in the conventional way, where the first team to score 6 games wins the set, with a 13-point tie-breaker to decide the winner, if the two teams are tied at 5-5. If the two teams are tied (in terms of games won) at the end of the five (5) Sets, a super Shoot-Out is played in a Men s Singles format to determine the winner of the Match. It is played as a 19-point super tiebreaker. The first team to win 10 points, 9-

5 9 final point wins the Super Shoot-Out and hence the Match. A 2-point difference is not required, and it is not time bound (Unlike Season 1). The match-winner is the team that wins the most games and hence points, at the end of the five Sets. Television Coverage In total, television coverage of IPTL matches will be available in more than 125 countries worldwide and reach over 300 million households. Starting in the 2015 season, ESPN will broadcast the IPTL to the Spanish-speaking Latin American and English-speaking Caribbean countries. In November 9, 2015, IPTL went into one-year broadcast agreement with Philippine sports broadcaster Sports5 for the online and television airing of the games. Prize Money The IPTL champions will receive the IPTL Challenge Trophy along with a grand prize of US$1,000,000