Palo Alto, Calif. — Universal Tennis is announcing the first-ever Universal Tennis National Invitational Tennis Championship (NIT Championship) for college teams to participate in a postseason competition from May 17-20 in Atlanta, Ga. All matches will be aired on Amazon Prime Video.
The NIT Championship will allow men’s and women’s teams to gain valuable postseason experiences. Eight teams will be selected to participate in this year’s event by the NIT tournament committee, with the team’s UTR Power 6 ranking among the top criteria for consideration.
“This is a game changer for collegiate tennis,” said Chase Hodges, VP of Universal Tennis and former 15-time NAIA National Championship Coach. “The NIT Championship will offer an opportunity for 16 programs (eight men’s and eight women’s) to finish their season with a national championship on the line. Universal Tennis is excited to bring this to reality for collegiate tennis players and coaches. The fact that this event will be on Prime Video will elevate college tennis to new heights.”
The women’s tournament will run May 17-20, and the men’s from May 18-20. Amazon Prime members will be able to watch the live stream at no additional cost.
“College tennis is an incredibly exciting product. Any time student-athletes are provided an opportunity for post-season play, it is something that they will cherish and will motivate them to work together for that common goal. It is great to see that Universal Tennis is keeping a helping hand in college tennis,” said the University of Georgia men’s head coach Manuel Diaz, who is in his 35th season and the SEC’s all-time winningest coach.
The announcement of the NIT Championship follows the launch of the Universal Tennis Collegiate Alliance (“UTCA”), which was created to support the future of all college programs in the United States. The UTCA Executive Committee voted unanimously to support the launch of the NIT Championship.
As a leader in college tennis, Universal Tennis has proven and established itself as the official technology and solution provider with the best and most proven rating and ranking, tournament and event technology, performance data, and analytics.
Universal Tennis has a proven track record of rapid innovation and enabling domestic and international recruiting with the gold-standard UTR Rating for assessing talent. Tens of millions of dollars have been invested in new technology, data science, analytics, and events (including camps, circuits, and clinics) to benefit and significantly grow revenue for college programs. Almost all college programs use Universal Tennis’ platform for recruiting, rating, running events, analytics and/or monetization.
Universal Tennis generates millions in revenue for college programs each year; Universal Tennis College Camps is a leader after only the initial year of launch, and some 3,000 players have competed in the newly launched Universal Tennis College Circuits. The UTR Pro Tennis Tour (“PTT”) has streamed over 20,000 matches featuring 1,300+ college players globally. In February, the PTT launched on Prime Video to elevate college tennis and showcase college players.
About Universal Tennis
The mission of Universal Tennis is to connect and grow the sport with innovative events and a global digital marketplace centered around level-based play. The Universal Tennis Engagement Platform is anchored by the UTR Rating, the world’s most accurate singles and doubles tennis rating system. Universal Tennis provides the tools and solutions to make the UTR Rating relevant and valuable to players, coaches, and organizers in their local tennis communities. Universal Tennis is creating opportunities and pathways for players from all over the world, in all stages of life, to find better matches and unlock a more fun and flexible tennis experience. Go to UniversalTennis.com to sign up, activate your player profile and join the global tennis community. Watch our video and connect on social @UniversalTennis to learn more.
Media Contact
Ben Makarenko: bmakarenko@universaltennis.com