Ufa Sports takes on global rights to IPTL

The Ufa Sports agency has agreed a deal to become the exclusive marketer of the global media rights to the inaugural International Premier Tennis League, which is scheduled to launch in November.

IPTL organisers and Ufa Sports announced the deal today (Tuesday) after it was initially reported in January that rival agency MP & Silva had acquired the global rights to the new franchise-based tennis competition.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the IPTL and Ufa Sports said they have agreed a “comprehensive cooperation”, including media rights distribution in the league’s respective Asian host countries as well as worldwide.

Mahesh Bhupathi, founder of the IPTL, said: “Ufa Sports brings wide experience and a high level of expertise which will help the IPTL reach a global audience. Ufa Sports is ideally placed to promote a unique concept like IPTL and we look forward to a long association.”

The inaugural IPTL season will run from November 28 until December 13, with current tennis stars and legends competing in four franchise teams in Manila, Singapore, New Delhi and Dubai.

The competition will feature a total of 21 grand slam champions including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.