The sponsor threatened to terminate the contract if Russian tennis players participated in the tournament

The organizers of the competition in New Zealand faced uniform blackmail

New Zealand’s most famous tennis tournament, which has been held in Auckland since 1956, is in danger of losing its title sponsor ahead of the competition’s resumption in January 2023.

The ASB Classic Women’s Tournament is due to start on January 2nd. It is traditionally an integral part of the preparation of tennis players for the Australian Open, which will be held from 16 to 29 January 2023 in Melbourne.

According to the New Zealand Internet news portal Newshub, after 25 years of sponsorship, ASB Bank is seriously considering breaking its contract with the organizers of the ASB Classic if Russian and Belarusian tennis players are allowed to participate. According to the representatives of the bank, this is a political decision related to the current situation in the world and the holding of the NWO in Ukraine.

Such a decision, if followed, would undoubtedly create a difficult situation for Tournament Director Nicolas Lamperin. If he succumbs to the requirements of the title sponsor, it is likely to fall under sanctions from the men’s and women’s international tennis associations ATP and WTA. The tournament may lose its official status. As happened earlier with the English Wimbledon. Due to the ban on the participation of Russian athletes, the ATP and WTA announced that all other tennis players will not be awarded rating points for participating in it.

“We are working with the tournament organizers to ensure that we can continue to support the event while maintaining alignment with our values ​​as a company,” the bank said in a statement.

If the organizers of the tournament do not agree with the requirements of the title sponsor and allow tennis players from Russia and Belarus to participate, then the tournament will be renamed the Auckland Classic. In this case, the bank will not completely refuse sponsorship, only the name. And the advertising media at his disposal will be used for political purposes “to promote messages of peace for Ukraine.”

ASB Classic is a women’s professional international tennis tournament held on the first days of the new year in Auckland, New Zealand on hard courts. Since 2009, it belongs to the international WTA series with a prize fund of 275 thousand dollars and a tournament grid designed for 32 participants in singles and 16 couples.

The tournament in its present form was created in 1986. Since then, competitions have been regularly held during the winter series of tournaments in this region of the world. In 1988, the tournament received the WTA category and since then has been present annually on the calendar of this most prestigious professional women’s tour.

Russian tennis players won this tournament only once. In 2009, Elena Dementieva turned out to be stronger than Elena Vesnina in the final, winning with a score of 6-4, 6-1. In addition, the Russians reached the final three more times, but failed to take the trophy. In 2021 and 2022, the tournament was not held due to the coronavirus epidemic.