With Pilot Pen dropping its $2 million sponsorship after this year tournament in New Haven, the tournament is in a frenzy to look for a new title sponsor. Pilot Pen has been sponsoring the event for the last 14 years.
The end of the sponsorship was blamed on a the poor economy. Organizers for the tournamens hope this won't be the last of New Haven.
“We’ve gotten a lot of excitement and a lot of good feedback,” tournament director Anne Worcester said. “But in this economy companies are just not expanding their sports portfolio. We’ve gotten so close with some big international brands. But it’s got to be the right time, right place, and it’s got to fit in with their strategy.”
New Haven is a joint tournament for both WTA and ATP Tour so they better come up with a sponsor quick.
“I think we’re going to be looking at every conceivable scenario,” said USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier. “But our ultimate goal is to get a title sponsor, and we want to keep this as a combined event in New Haven.”