Sony Ericsson Tennis Tournament History

The Sony Ericsson Open is currently the largest tournament in the world with Title Sponsorship. When Butch Buchholz established the event in 1985, it marked the first time in 56 years that a new two-week tournament featuring men and women was launched. Located in Delray Beach (Laver's International Tennis Center) in 1985 and Boca Raton (Boca West) in 1986, the tournament found a permanent home in 1987 on Miami's Key Biscayne. In 1994, Miami-Dade County christened the Tennis Center at Crandon Park, a 30-acre expanse that is transformed each year from a public tennis facility into a full-fledged festival for the Sony Ericsson Open.

The Sony Ericsson Open was awarded "Tournament of the Year" by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for four consecutive years and seven of the last eight years and in 2004 by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The Sony Ericsson Open is considered one of the most prestigious titles in professional tennis.

The Sony Ericsson Open is the only combined 12-day Tennis Masters Series event on the ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour calendar. The event features the world's top-ranked pros – 96 men and 96 women in singles competition, and 32 men's teams and 32 women's teams in doubles action. The men's final is best 3-out-of-5 sets with every other match in both men's and women's singles and doubles will be best 2-out-of-3.

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