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The Oldest Polish Tennis Tournament
The International Tennis Tournament Orange Prokom Open will commence exactly in one month from today (preliminaries: July 28th - 29th, main tournament: July 30th - August 5th) on the courts of the Sopot Tennis Club.
The tournament, which evolved from a simple WTA women's challenge held for the first time in 1992, grew in the initial decade of its existence into one of the largest sporting events in Poland. Its significance follows from the fact that it was the first-ever WTA Tour tennis tournament to be played in Poland, and the first competition in the history of Polish tennis that developed, six years ago, into a fixture in the calendar of events organised as part of ATP Tour, the most prominent men's tennis competitions.
For the majority of winners of the Sopot tournament, it was this very competition that marked the beginning of their successful professional careers. Examples include Rafael Nadal, who won the tournament in 2004 as an 18-year-old tennis prodigy and is now an ultimate champion of the ground courts and a triple winner of the Roland Garros tournament. The other recognised players who were awarded the champion's title include: Tommy Robredo (2001), Jose Acasuso (2002), Guillermo Coria (2003), Gael Monfils (2005) and Nikołaj Dawydienko (2006). Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, the best Polish couple triumphed in the doubles twice (in 2003 and 2005).
This year, the oldest of all tennis tournaments currently played in Poland, Orange Prokom Open, will be held in Sopot for the 16th consecutive time, this time as an ATP International Series event, with the total prize pool of EUR 425,250. Orange Prokom Open remains the only Polish tennis tournament on the ATP Tour.
Nominal sponsors of the tournament include PTK Centertel - ORANGE operator and Prokom Software SA. The tournament is also sponsored by Mercedes-Benz (ATP sponsor) and Ergo Hestia. Media coverage will be provided by the Polish Television, "Gazeta Wyborcza", the First Programme of the Polish Radio, AMS and Wirtualna Polska.
TVP Sport will air live coverage of the Sopot tennis tournament from Monday (July 30th) until Sunday (August 5th) and the first channel of the Polish Television (TVP1) will broadcast highlights of the tournament on a daily basis at 8pm (just after sports news). The final match will be televised live on TVP1, while the pre-recorded semi-finals will be shown in the evening block on August 4th on the same channel.
For the last 16 years, the Orange Prokom Open tournament has been one of the most notable events held during the tourist season at the Polish seaside. We welcome and warmly invite you to Sopot. There is no other place to be in the first week of August!
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