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The hottest place for tennis fans to be right now is the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, where the best in tennis have come together to compete in the 2009 US Open Championships. For fans looking to sit so close they can hear the "whoosh" of each 125-mph serve, or for those looking to attend any top match of their choice, TicketsNow, the official resale ticketing partner of the US Open, has your tickets.

The US Open is the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, with 720,000 fans passing through the turnstiles last year. As a result, demand for US Open tickets is always high and making sure every ticket is authentic is a must. To meet the increasing demand for US Open tickets, the USTA is continuing its partnership with TicketsNow to provide a secure, convenient resale marketplace where fans can buy and sell tickets.

TicketsNow connects fans with all of the fun and excitement of live tennis and is a great way to find the seats you want for the matches you want to see. Additionally, ticket holders who are unable to attend specific sessions can post their tickets for sale, offering fellow fans the opportunity to purchase tickets for courtside and other great seats.

"We are thrilled to once again team with the USTA to offer tennis fans a secure and convenient way to buy and sell US Open tickets," said Shawn Freeman, President of TicketsNow. "This partnership makes it possible for even more fans to experience the excitement of US Open tennis."

Sales for the 2009 US Open Tennis Championships are keeping pace with last year's record volume on TicketsNow. The good news for fans is that although demand continues to be high, prices have dipped slightly. The average US Open ticket sales price this time in 2008 was $191 compared to an average price of $185 this year. Tennis fans purchasing US Open tickets from TicketsNow are arriving from 47 different states, including Alaska and Hawaii, and some are traveling from as far away as Karnataka (India) and Auckland (New Zealand).

For more information and to begin your search for tickets, visit www.TicketsNow.com.

SOURCE TicketsNow

The. U.S. Open begins Aug. 31, and kgb is on top of its game to answer all your tennis-related questions. Below are some actual U.S. Open questions that have been served up to kgb's 542542 text answer service.

Who has the most U.S. Open men's singles titles? How can I purchase tickets for this year's U.S. Open? Who is the youngest U.S. Open women's singles champ? Who are the top seeds at this year's U.S. Open? When was Roger Federer born?

Here's how it works: if you have a tennis-related question (or any question for that matter), send it via text message to 542542 (kgbkgb), the number for the kgb's text answer service, where a specially-trained kgb Special Agent is waiting to provide a quick, accurate answer.

"kgb 542542 has become a great companion for sports fans across the country and we anticipate the U.S. Open will generate lots of tennis-related questions," said Bruce Stewart, CEO of Mobile and Digital at kgb. "Often fans text us while watching a match with spontaneous questions like, 'How can I become a ballboy or ballgirl at the Open?' or 'What injuries caused Nadal to take a break from the tour earlier this year?' kgb 542542 helps fans keep track of match-by-match results while they're at work or on the go. Whenever they need the latest news on the Open, they can kgb it."

The kgb 542542 text answer service combines the power of the company's best-in-class knowledge database with the judgment and skill of a specially-trained community of kgb Special Agents who provide quick, accurate responses to any question. Users receive real-time responses to questions any time, day or night, from any cell phone, for a cost of ninety-nine cents.

In January kgb launched its flagship text answer service, 542542 (kgbkgb) following the success of kgb's similar "Ask Us Anything" premium text answer service in the United Kingdom.

Source: kgb

Tennis legend Andre Agassi, a favorite among fans and players throughout his 20+ year career, will appear at The Kennedy Funding Invitational, a charity tennis tournament to raise awareness and funding to fight breast cancer. The fourth annual event will be held July 8-12 at Dellwood Country Club in New City, NY. In addition to Men's and Women's tournaments, the Cole Schotz Celebrity Match has become a highlight of the annual festivities. The Celebrity Match will be on Sunday, July 12 at 4:00 pm.

A limited number of tickets are available to the Andre Agassi match at $100 each. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com and at all Ticketmaster outlets. To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000. Seating is limited and tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets for the tournament matches are free and can be obtained by visiting the tournament's official website at www.thekennedyfundinginvitational.com.

In just its first three years, The Kennedy Funding Invitational has raised $3 million to benefit The Leslie Simon Breast Care and Cytodiagnosis Center at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and the Breast Center at Nyack Hospital. Past participants in the Celebrity Match have included former tennis greats Pete Sampras and John McEnroe.

This year, Agassi takes the spotlight at The Kennedy Funding Invitational. Known for his aggressive play and flamboyant style, Agassi was a favorite among fans and players throughout his 21-year career, winning an Olympic Gold Medal and a total of 68 titles. He is one of only five male players to have won all four Grand Slam singles titles and the only men's player to have won all four Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces. He was ranked the Number 1 player in the world during both 1995 and 1999 and consistently ranked among the top 10 throughout his career. Now retired from competition, he is focused on the work of his Foundation. The Andre Agassi Foundation is dedicated to transforming U.S. public education for underserved youth. At the center of the Foundation's mission is the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a K-12 charter school located in Las Vegas' most socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhood. More information is available at www.agassifoundation.org

To find out more about becoming a sponsor, or for information on tickets for the tournament matches, please visit www.thekennedyfundinginvitational.com.

SOURCE The Kennedy Funding Invitational

According to data just released by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), Tennis is the fastest growing sport in America among individual traditional sports with an increase in participation of 43% from 2000 to 2008. According to the SGMA, tennis was one of only six sports to experience participation growth exceeding 40% from 2000 through 2008. Tennis is well ahead of other traditional sports like baseball, ice hockey, gymnastics and football, all of which suffered a decline in participation during the past eight years. In the last year alone (through December 31, 2008), Tennis experienced a 9.6% growth in participation.

The SGMA study is the latest in a series of reports and studies that have cited the extraordinary growth for tennis. In December, the Taylor Research Group (TRG) reported that tennis participation reached a record high of 27 million players in 2008, more than any other period in the past 15 years. Sales of tennis racquets and balls have both also increased significantly, most notably, an 88% increase in the sale of youth racquets from 2003 through 2008, according to the TRG report.

"The SGMA study is a clear validation of all the hard work and commitment that our industry has put into the sport," said Jon Muir, president of the Tennis Industry Association (TIA), and General Manager of Wilson Racquet Sports. "We've focused not only on reinforcing our already strong base, but at the same time, we've developed new, innovative programs to bring players, of all ages and skill levels, into the game."

"From programs like QuickStart Tennis that makes it easy for young players to get into the sport and begin a developmental pathway; to high school and college programs like USTA's No-Cut and Tennis on Campus, which keeps them in the game; to the innovative and fitness based Cardio Tennis, which combines tennis with a healthy and fun work-out curriculum, the tennis industry is at the forefront of engaging and retaining players," Muir added. "The TIA has also established more than 2600 Tennis Welcome Centers across the country, and provides an online GrowingTennis System that lets consumers find places to play, partners with comparable skill level and other programs that all serve to enhance their overall tennis experience."

The TIA, USTA and many other industry partners have been united since 1993 in a joint effort to support "Grow The Game" activities, a strategy to increase tennis participation on several levels.

Tennis Participation vs. Economy

"We are especially pleased that interest in tennis has been able to withstand this soft economy," added Jolyn de Boer, Executive Director, TIA. "We've charted the various economic indicators against industry shipments and participation numbers from 2003. We've clearly seen that tennis has experienced a level of growth unmatched among other major sports and participation doesn't seem as impacted by a down economy."

In addition to the rise in tennis participation, charting industry shipments over this same five year period showed shipments of adult racquets are up 30%, while shipments for youth racquets increased a remarkable 88% from 2003 thru 2008. Furthermore, tennis ball shipments for the same time period were up over 16%, continuing to demonstrate an increasing attraction to the sport. Muir adds: "While no industry can escape the current impact of the nation's economic challenges, we will use the current report provided by the SGMA study and our own TIA/USTA Participation research to focus on creating even more players and consumers for our sport."

Current Tennis Industry Initiatives:

Tennis Welcome Centers: These public and private tennis facilities have led the charge in growing the sport by welcoming new players to the game the right way - through instruction. The facilities provide well-rounded programs to new and current players of all ages and abilities. On average, each Tennis Welcome Center, reports 39 new players, retains 34 players and 82 percent of the centers reported increased revenue from lessons. Visit http://www.tenniswelcomecenter.com/ for more information.

Cardio Tennis: This program brings new players to tennis by demonstrating the exercise and fitness benefits of the sport. Cardio Tennis is a fun way to get in shape and lose weight, even for someone who has never played tennis. In just 4 years, Cardio Tennis is now offered in over 1,700 facilities nationwide. Find more information about Cardio Tennis at: www.cardiotennis.com.

QuickStart Tennis for kids: This program is a great way to integrate children - primarily 10 years old and younger - into tennis by using a progressive format to teach basic skills on shorter courts, using smaller racquets, low pressure balls, and modified scoring. This method will train the next generation of tennis players as the QuickStart format is now being used in almost 1,000 locations across the country! For more information please visit: http://consumers.quickstarttennis.com/.

Tennis On Campus: Developed by the USTA to promote and support the expansion of recreational tennis on college campuses. Either through intramural tournaments and leagues or in a more structured sport club environment, teams compete interscholastically. Tennis On Campus focuses on providing opportunities for the entire campus community, and is currently run on more than 500 campuses across the country, providing organized play for 30,000 participants. For more information about Tennis On Campus please visit: http://www.tennisoncampus.com/.

No-Cut: This program was introduced to encourage and recognize high school coaches who make a commitment to their schools by not cutting any student who tries out for the team. Since its inception, the USTA's No-Cut program has been embraced by coaches across the country, nearly doubling each year since its inception. With almost 1,800 coaches now implementing a no-cut philosophy, thousands of students who may have otherwise dropped the sport are now part of a team and competing for their school. Find more information about the No-Cut program at: http://www.usta.com/Coaches/HighSchool.aspx.

GrowingTennis System / Online Enrollment: The national TIA database has more than 20,000 facility listings and contacts that can post their programs and events online at GrowingTennis.com. Every month, more than 2.4 million consumer queries are made to these informational postcards on consumer sites including usta.com, tennischannel.com, tennis.com, tenniswelcomecenter.com, cardiotennis.com, quickstart.com and others. Visitors and players can also automatically register for programs, events or reserve court time online, saving time and money. For more information please visit: www.growingtennis.com/.

SOURCE Tennis Industry Association