As expected, the Southern California Tennis Association has pulled in a title sponsor for its longtime ATP Tour event.
On Wednesday, the SCTA inked a deal with the Farmers Insurance Group that will make the company the new title sponsor of the tournament, held each summer on the UCLA campus.
With the shift, the event will now be called the Farmers Classic. The 84th edition of the tournament will be held July 26-Aug. 1 in Westwood. The agreement runs through 2012.
“We’re very grateful to Farmers for stepping up to the title sponsorship and ensuring that men’s tennis remains strong in L.A.,” said tournament director Bob Kramer.
World No. 3 Novak Djokovic headlines the early player commitments to date for the 2010 tournament, along with defending champs Sam Querrey and the Bryan Bros.
The Farmers Classic has been played every year since 1927, making it the longest-running annual professional sporting event in L.A. Played since 1984 at the L.A. Tennis Center, the tournament is part of the Olympus US Open Series, the six-week summer tennis season linking 10 ATP Tour and WTA Tour events to the US Open.
