Sony Ericsson Sponsors Tennis Masters Cup

Global mobile phone innovator makes further investment in professional tennis with three-year agreement for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai

11 September 2006 - Beijing, China – Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, a leading innovator in mobile phone technology and applications, today announces the signing of a three-year agreement to become the official mobile phone of the Tennis Masters Cup, Shanghai. The Tennis Masters Cup takes place for the second year running at Qi Zhong Stadium, Shanghai from 12-19 November 2006.

Sony Ericsson has exclusive worldwide rights as ‘Official Mobile Phone of the Tennis Masters Cup’ and will enjoy prominent on-court brand presence, on-screen score graphics during all national and international broadcasts, global promotional rights and top level hospitality and tickets at the men’s season-ending finale.

The Tennis Masters Cup is the culmination of the men’s professional tennis year where the top eight players, and the world’s best doubles teams, battle it out to be the best of the best. Roger Federer, who was runner-up last year to David Nalbandian, and Rafael Nadal already have booked their places at the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup with the remaining six singles places being closely contested by the ATP’s top players. Doubles teams Bob and Mike Bryan, Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi, Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett, Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor, and Martin Damm and Leander Paes all have qualified for the doubles tournament.

Gunilla Nordström, President of Sony Ericsson China, said: “This demonstrates Sony Ericsson’s commitment to the Chinese market as Shanghai and tennis will continue to host this major sporting event until at least 2008. This is another significant step in our global tennis sponsorship strategy and means that we now have landmark tennis events in three major regions: the Sony Ericsson Open, Miami for the Americas; the Sony Ericsson Championships, Madrid in Europe and now the Tennis Masters Cup in Asia.”

Nordstrom added: “We would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks for the China Open’s partnership with the ATP, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and Sony Ericsson, which has provided a solid tennis platform in China.”

Etienne de Villiers, ATP Executive Chairman and President, stated: “Sony Ericsson has again demonstrated a

“Sony Ericsson is one of the world’s most exciting brands and we are very proud they have chosen to become a partner of the Tennis Masters Cup, said Brad Drewett, Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai Tournament Director. “Sony Ericsson joins a very prestigious list of top international and Chinese companies as Premier sponsors of the event. Sponsors recognize the many benefits of supporting the Masters Cup, which is one of the largest annual sporting events in China and has developed an enormous public following there.”

Sony Ericsson is one of 12 Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai Premier Sponsors, which includes Citigroup, Lacoste, South African Airways, Indesit, Rado, China Mobile, Shui On Land, Haworth Furniture, China Pacific Insurance, China Union Pay and Shanghai Petro. Heineken is the event’s Founding Sponsor and Mercedes-Benz is Principal Sponsor.

About Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications serves the global communications market with innovative and feature-rich mobile phones, accessories and PC-cards. Established as a joint venture by Sony and Ericsson in 2001, with global corporate functions located in London, the company employs approximately 6,000 people worldwide, including R&D sites in Europe, Japan, China and America. Sony Ericsson celebrates the 5th anniversary of the start of the joint venture on 1st October, 2006.

Sony Ericsson is the global title sponsor of the Women’s Tennis Association, and works with the Association to promote the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in over 80 cities during the year. The Tour culminates at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid, Spain, from 7 to 12 November. Sony Ericsson is also the title sponsor of the Sony Ericsson Open, the leading international professional tennis tournaments outside of the four Grand Slams, a mandatory tournament on the men’s ATP Masters Series and the women’s Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The tournament is held annually in March in Miami, Florida.

The China telecoms market is one of the fastest-growing and dynamic in the world, and is a key market for Sony Ericsson. Since August 2002, when the company first established operations in China, Sony Ericsson has turned China into a strategic base that includes research, design, development, manufacturing and regional sales and marketing.

For more information on Sony Ericsson, please visit www.SonyEricsson.com

About Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai
The Tennis Masters Cup, co-owned by the ATP, ITF and Grand Slams, is the culminating event of the men’s professional tennis circuit. The top seven players and teams in the INDESIT ATP Race to Shanghai and Stanford ATP Doubles Race, plus eligible Grand Slam champions, qualify for the eight-man, eight-team round-robin event to be played in Shanghai, China through 2008.

The Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai is held at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center, which boasts a 15,000-seat Centre Court Stadium with an eight-piece magnolia-shaped retractable roof, 16 outdoor courts and six indoor courts.

The Promoter of the Tennis Masters Cup is Ba-shi (Shanghai) Industrial.

How to Buy Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai Tickets
Tickets can be purchased on-line from the official Web sites: www.masters-cup.com and www.masters-cup.com.cn

ATP Media Contact: Alison Lee, alee@atptennis.com, +61-2-9250-2300

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Sony Ericsson Corporate Communications

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