Kings of Tennis: Arianna Teoh's official media statement

Personally I think we should listen to Arianna's side of her story too regarding the cancellation of Kings of Tennis.

Here's what I received last night:

PRESS STATEMENT OF ARIANNA TEOH

1. I refer to the various press reports in relation to the "Kings of Tennis" tournament which was scheduled to be held on 14.11.2008 to 16.11.2008 at the Esplanade in Penang.

2. In press reports, it has been suggested by the Producer of the event, Show Administration Europe AB ("Show Administration"), that the event was actually cancelled by their company, due to my failure to remit certain funds to them.

3. I wish to refute this allegation as it was made without any basis whatsoever. The truth of the matter is, that I was hired by Show Administration as a Vice President for the "Kings of Tennis" event, at which time I agreed to organise and manage the event in Malaysia.

4. The budgeting, revenue and invoicing were obligations to be undertaken by Show Administration. Show Administration were obligated to set up a Malaysian company controlled by them to be named "Kings of Tennis Malaysia". I was supposed to be made a director of this company "Kings of Tennis Malaysia" in order to issue all invoices in relation to all sources of revenue pertaining to the event. This would include corporate boxes, sponsors and hospitality packages.

5. If and when this company was registered, it would have been the entity that would have received all funds for the event. As indicated above, these funds would have been under the control of Show Administration.

6. At no time was I under any obligation to personally remit funds to Show Administration for the event.

7. Show Administration failed to set up a company called "Kings of Tennis Malaysia". What they did was set up a company known as Profound Quality Sdn Bhd. This company was set up by Show Administration and was intended by them to be the vehicle for fund collection. This company was set up extremely late in the day despite my repeated reminders to them that it was imperative for collection of funds that this entity be set up and the necessary bank account opened as quickly as possible.

8. By this time, it was far too late to collect the projected revenue prior to the event.

9. Although I had lined up various sponsors and various corporate customers willing to purchase corporate boxes, I refused to collect any monies until the necessary entity was fully and legally set up by Show Administration. I did not want to be in the position of holding other peoples monies personally. The question therefore of me remitting funds to Show Administration could not have arisen.

10. I wish to stress that I have come up with my own money on various occasions. This was despite the fact that it was not my obligation to fund the event.

11. I am a Penangite and I am very proud to be one. I believe that for Penang, this was a golden opportunity to put it back on the world map. Penang has just received world heritage status and this event was to be the first global celebration of this fact. The event was to be held at the Esplanade which is completely surrounded by historical landmarks. Furthermore, the event was to be televised to over forty countries.

12. Those of you who have visited the stadium or even seen the picture of the set up, must realize that the local production team delivered a world class facility.

13. I therefore remain committed to promoting Penang globally. Although this is a set back for my team and for Penangites, I intend to do my very best to make up for this unfortunate episode.

14. Rest assured that the Esplanade will be restored fully as promised.

15. Finally, I take these allegations very seriously and will not hesitate to take any action in order to defend my position. I have engaged Ranjit Singh from Kuala Lumpur to act as my lawyer. If you require any further clarification please do not hesitate to contact him at ranj@rorl.com.my.

In another email, she said, "I look forward to a new chapter.I love Penang and we had the best venue and we were let down."

Kings of Tennis is OFFICIALLY cancelled

Thanks to Johan P. the press officer at Kings of Tennis for forwarding the official media statement to me issued by Ming, KH & Associated Sdn Bhd on behalf of Kings of Tennis.

Here's the content of the release. To download the file, click here and "save file to your PC".

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KINGS OF TENNIS EVENT CANCELLED

11 November 2008: As the producers of the Kings of Tennis concept, we wish to inform and confirm that we have with regret, removed the players from participating in the Kings of Tennis event scheduled to take place in Georgetown, Penang on 14-16 November 2008. Consequently, the event has been cancelled as we notified the local promoter/organiser last week.

We express our sincere apologies to the public and all those parties concerned but we simply could not provide the players without payment of promised funds that did not materialise despite a number of ultimatums given to the local promoter/organiser by our organisation.

Kings of Tennis

I believe we will see the official news in papers tomorrow and on how you can get your refund back.

Updates:
Official news of event cancellation is available at The Star today.

Kings of Tennis or Kings of Comedies?

Thanks to TennisPunk for inspiring the title of this blog.

I've lost count of how many times I've stressed in my blog that the cancellation of Kings of Tennis is based on reliable source: media at Kings of Tennis Sweden, player's statement and also endless investigation from tennis fans including SK Boey and I.

And in the latest email I received from the webmaster at Marat Safin OFFICIAL website, denisem the webmaster confirmed that Marat Safin is NOT COMING to Malaysia for King of Tennis!

From his official website, it seems that Safin is in Miami beach building his tan to match his girlfriend Nastya Osipova!

And for one last time before tomorrow comes, please read the latest update from SK Boey's blog.

Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.

Kings of Tennis: OOP is available; Marat Safin & Jim Courier are the other 2 players coming

Here's what arthur13 has posted in a forum in lonelyplanet.com.

Surprisingly there are no similar press release published in the mainstream media (international or national yet). Also Arthur did not provide source of the article.

Anyway this is what he had posted:

For the first time ever a tournament featuring former world number ones in Tennis is being staged and Penang (press release error, should be Georgetown, Penang is the state) designated as a World Heritage City by UNESCO seems to be the perfect place to hold its first edition. Dubbed as “Kings of Tennis” Big Bang Penang, it is being held from 14th–16th November, 2008 at the scenic Esplanade in Georgetown, Penang.

Be ready to witness a keen battle between Tennis greats like John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios and Pete Sampras from America and captained by Australia’s Roy Emerson and Europe’s Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander, captained by the all time Romanian great, Ilie Nastase. Both teams will have one extra player – battle hardened Jim Courier from America and enigmatic once-upon-a-time big-serving Russian Tennis prodigy, Marat Safin.

Will style and grace of John McEnroe’s volleys triumph over the booming service of Marat Safin or the impeccable serve and volley tennis of Stefan Edberg triumph over strong-serving Pete Sampras, still the holder of maximum numbers of Grand Slam singles titles among men. Definitely a sumptuous fare for all those tennis fans who were either not born or were too young when these greats ruled the courts.

The event is interestingly planned to bring out the drama among these Tennis Hall of Fame players who have enthralled the audiences across the world in the last 4 decades. On the first two days of the event, there will be two singles matches and one doubles match respectively while on the final day there will be four singles matches. This three-day event will be staged on a temporary tennis court with a 13,000 seating capacity (although Sunday Star reported only 5,000 seats). The court and the seating arrangements are almost ready and the overhead spot lights are being tested.

THE 'King of Tennis' showdown in Penang has been sanctioned by the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM). The tournament received the endorsement two weeks ago. There has been rumors of the tournament been cancelled but our reliable sources have confirmed that this unique battle of titans is on and will be held as scheduled.

According to Arthur here's the order of play:

Friday, 14th November, 2008
3.00 pm Gate Opens
5.00 pm M. Wilander vs J. Courier
6.30 pm M. Safin vs M.Rios
8.00 pm S. Edberg/B Bjorg vs P. Sampras/J. McEnroe

Saturday, 15th November, 2008
2.00 pm Gate Opens
4.00 pm M. Safin/M. Wilander vs M. Rios/J. Courier
5.30 pm B. Borg vs J McEnroe
8.00 pm S. Edberg vs P. Sampras

Sunday, 17th November, 2008
1.00 pm Gate Opens
3.00 pm M. Wilander vs J. McEnroe
4.30 pm B. Bjorg vs J. Courier
6.00 pm S. Edberg vs M. Rios
7.30 pm M. Safin vs P. Sampras

Also someone left a comment saying that the stage is beautiful.

I don't know what kind of stage she meant but I can only find a small pathetic picture of the incomplete court covered with a canvas. Anyone from Penang want to send a photo of the newly built stadium to me?

So despite all the confusion and misunderstood created by the media guy at Kings of Tennis based in Sweden, Emerson saying that it's cancelled and the organizer unhappy with the Penang government for being unsupportive, it seems that this event is ready to roll, although there are still doubts about this event.

Hopefully everyone will enjoy the great opportunity to meet the former champs in action in Penang starting this Friday. I hope I can drop by this weekend to witness the event myself (if the event on Friday is on).

Updates
The webmaster of Marat Safin's official website said Safin coming to Malaysia is NOT true. Now I'm really pissed off for those who's responsible to give us false hope!

More Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.

Jeff Ooi promotes Kings of Tennis, appears to be ignorant

Dear Jeff Ooi,

I do hope you know what you are talking about. You might be good in politicking but when it comes to tennis, I really hope you do some homework first.

It will be a wish come true to see all tennis super stars in action in one city.

How I wish Marat Safin would come to Penang. Or even Rafael Nadal who is currently injured but still preparing for Davis Cup final next week.

And if you still haven't know, Tennis Masters Cup has just begun, so don't even hope that Roger Federer and Andy Roddick will drop by this week.

But you can meet up with Roger Federer on November 18 though, if you have purchased your Showdown of Champions ticket.

Yeah, Arianna said the tournament is on but that contradicts with the statement made by the media at Kings of Tennis,Sweden. And Roy Emerson, the captain of Team America again said the event has been canceled.

I hope there is a back up plan. Or the organizers come up with a solution by early this week.

And Jeff Ooi, please stick to your politics. Now I'll have to shut up and stick back to my topics too.

Updates:
Yeah, some of you might think I'm trying to make this Kings of Tennis event a political one.

But first, this post is meant to tease Jeff Ooi.

Now here's the serious part. Please.... read carefully.

Read again the article from Sunday Star today and you'll realized the organizer is trying to blame the Penang government for not being supportive which is denied by the Penang State Tourism Development, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Danny Law.

Think about this, if the event is canceled as stated by media team at Kings of Tennis based in Sweden and also by the player himself, who do you think will face the consequences? You can't blame the Penang government because they are just the key sponsor and doesn't own Kings of Tennis. The event belongs to some Swedish entrepreneurs!

By the way, Kings of Tennis event has been removed from the Visit Penang website. Click on the images to enlarge.


The conclusion is I'm on the Penang government side and also the players sides, who are all former no. 1 players in the world. The organisers must solve their own problems.

Now I really, really have to stick back to my usual topics.

Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.

Local organizer confirmed Kings of Tennis is still on

Finally Arianna Teoh appears in Sunday Star today making her statement that Kings of Tennis is still on.

“Speculations about the event being canceled are untrue. Those who doubt should drop by the Esplanade to see the structures already up. The players are also arriving in the next few days,” said Teoh.

SK Boey called up Roy Emerson again this morning and has forwarded the news link to him. But as far as Emerson, the Team Captain of America, is concerned, it is still off.

In that article again, Arianna expressed her disappointment for the lack of support from the Penang government.

“I feel like we are not getting enough support for the event. The Kings of Tennis is going to be an unprecedented event for Penang, and it is special for the reason that we chose to hold it outdoors at a world heritage site,” Teoh said at the venue at Esplanade yesterday.

Personally I must say kudos to the Penang government for acted responsibly by keeping an eye on the budget for Kings of Tennis.

Ultimately this event is organized by a private company and not exactly a state government-initiated event.

Penang State Tourism Development, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Danny Law, when contacted, refuted claims the state government had turned its back on the Kings of Tennis event.

It is a new event in Penang organised by a private company on their own initiative. We helped provide the venue at a minimal rate, but the issue of the state not helping promote the event should not arise as we did not make such an agreement with the organisers,” he said.

So if you are interested in tennis, you can purchase the tickets at the temporary office set up outside the Penang City Hall building at the Esplanade from 9am to 8pm daily.

Based on an insider information, there's no live coverage of the event on Astro unless there's a last minute change. So the best way to watch is to go to Esplanade and experience the international event yourself.

(Via The Star Online)

Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.

What is going on with Kings of Tennis / Big Bang Penang? Arianna Teoh, Penang Government, please answer.

For those who are regulars at HCFoo's Tennis Blog, they know I don't post rumours.

I only post facts which are cited from credible and relevant source such as the media person directly. Well, except for Anando's case which is solely based on a photo, which turns out to be true.

I don't post the cancellation of the Kings of Tennis for nothing.

I'm doing my bits to provide the latest development in tennis. If do not care about this event, I wouldn't have contacted the media team and management at Kings of Tennis based in Sweden for media accreditation from day one.

And I wouldn't have written to Arianna Teoh, the organizer too for the latest development and press releases which she never get back to me with those info although she promised to do so.

One thing for sure, I always appreciate media team and publicists especially those I've been in contact with in the US, UK and recently in Tashkent who are usually very professional and always furnish me with the latest info about the players they work for as well as tournament events.

So when Johan P. at Kings of Tennis (also work for TENNIS.SE) wrote back to me informing me that Kings of Tennis has been cancelled for the very last minute, I was shocked too.

Even SK Boey, whom I get to know about this event, doubt me at the beginning... until he called up Roy Emerson, supposedly the Captain for Team America.

Emerson is still in LA right now and has already unpacked his suitcase, as quoted from SK Boey's website. And in the latest post, SK Boey mentioned that Emerson personally wrote him an email confirming the cancellation again.

So now, the questions is why Arianna and Penang Lawn Tennis still insist the event is still ON?

Why Arianna has not reply to my email saying that this is all rumour and confirm that there is a plan B after all?

Are there actually changes in the players list? If Emerson is not coming, who's going to replace him?

I know this is a bad news looking at all the efforts put in to make this event a successful one. I wish the media team at Kings of Tennis will come back to me and tell me it's on again. Or Emerson tells SK Boey that he'll be flying to Malaysia now.

I'm not sure if you have been to the construction site where the stadium is being built in these few days. Perhaps you can do so this weekend.

In a forum discussion at lonelyplanet, Melissa1234 expressed her worry:

The venue is very slowly getting into shape. Looks like a rush job and they better hurry with 11 more days to go before the Big Bang . I was there yesterday and looks like it will not be ready. I really hope my judgement is wrong ~ Nov 3, 2008

You know what, searching for info about Kings of Tennis is not easy. There are almost no reports on this event in the newspapers (online or offline, national or international). Try google Kings of Tennis or Big Bang Penang under news and see.

If this event is so huge, participated by former world no.1 players in the world, why the international media almost don't give a damn about this event? And why the Swedish entreprenuers want to have it in Penang in the first place? Why not in Sweden itself?

Also, why suddenly Kings of Tennis a supposedly an international event want to localize themselves and use a government domain (.gov.my) for their website?

Can someone explain what is going on here?

Without proper explanation regarding the current issue or worse the failure of this event, the opposition party (which is the Barisan Nasional here) will have an opportunity to question the Penang government (who is the main sponsor) on the money spent in this project.

Read here and here for why I think Penang government try not to get involved in the confusion between the local organiser and the owner of this event.

I've just checked that Kings of Tennis has been removed from the Visit Penang website. Click on images to enlarge.

Seems like the Penang government has turned their back on this event and delete it from the official programme.



Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.

Kings of Tennis is cancelled; Showdown of Champions draw near

Unfortunately, the first ever team event featuring former world no. 1 players, Kings of Tennis, will not be realized in Penang.

The event dubbed as Big Bang Penang is confirmed canceled today.

In their e-mail, the press officer at Kings of Tennis explained that the event has to be canceled due to the current financial crisis and the uncertainty of the world economics which resulted in the pulling out of some of their key sponsors.

As what SK Boey has predicted, Big Bang Penang has blown up.

P/S Anyone who wants to comment about this part of the post can try answer my doubts in this post too: What is going on with Kings of Tennis / Big Bang Penang? Arianna Teoh, Penang Government, please answer.



However the good news is, Showdown of Champions which is going to be held on the 18th in Stadium Putra KL is going strong!

In the past few days, there are quite a lot of visitors dropping by this blog searching for news regarding this exho.

I was informed that James Blake will be conducting a tennis clinic for LTAM junior players on Nov 18.

There will also be an autograph-signing session at KLCC, which I'll let you know the time, date and place in the next few days.

Drop me an email if you are interested to meet Roger Federer, James Blake, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

If you still haven't get your tickets to the showdown, which is priced between RM108 and RM498, go to Ticket Axcess outlets or call +603 7711 5000 for enquiries. The official Showdown of Champions website is at www.showdownkl2008.com.

Updates:
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.

Tickets for Kings Cup is up for sale!

Before you head to Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur for Showdown of Champions, I suggest you to go up north during the weekend (Nov 14-16) to Penang to catch the Kings Cup.

The tickets for Kings of Tennis' Big Bang Penang are now up for sale at Axcess outlet (offline and online).

Please take not that the price is RM203 per ticket per day. So, for 3 days it's going to be totalled up to RM609. Still worth it to see the first King Cups with all no.1 players in one place, huh?!

During a press conference in New York recently. Notice the lady in the middle is Arianna Teoh, the organiser, former Miss Malaysia and wife of Alex Yoong (former F-1 race car driver).

Eight former world No. 1s, including Americans John McEnroe and Pete Sampras and Swedes Bjorn Borg and Stefan Edberg, are to square off against each other in a new Ryder Cup-style competition.

Team America: Roy Emerson (Captain), John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios and Pete Sampras.

Team Europe: Ilie Nastase (Captain), Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander.

Called the Kings Cup, Team America and Team Europe will battle over three days in Malaysia in a singles and doubles format.

"Let's just say I'm glad that Sampras is on my team," McEnroe, who topped the rankings for 170 weeks, said at the competition's launch in New York back in August.

"For us it's a great concept. 'Kings of Tennis' sounds awful nice to us because slowly but surely we're becoming legends in our own minds, so the fact that we're going to be going to Malaysia and treated as kings is quite exciting," he said.

"It's easy to say yes to this kind of thing. To get together with a very small group of people who you have mutual respect for because of what we were able to accomplish - there are not a lot of people who can say that," he said.

Borg, who was No. 1 for 109 weeks, will be joined by fellow Swedes Edberg, Mats Wilander and an as-yet unnamed wild card for the inaugural event, which will be held annually.

"I'm delighted to play with these guys once again and to play with John - everyone knows the matches we had in the past," Borg said.

"I believe this could be a very big thing in the future. Just to get all the No. 1s together in the same place has never happened before, so it's going to be a lot of fun.

"Stefan is playing a lot. Mats too, and the same with me. We play because we enjoy playing, but you have to be in good shape, otherwise there is no point. For us Swedes, we are looking forward to it," he said.

Chilean Marcelo Rios, the only men's No. 1 never to have won a Grand Slam, will join McEnroe, Sampras and one wild card in the Team America side.

"I think there really is a place for the team tennis format," McEnroe said.

"The team tennis format would be a very interesting format for the Olympics, for example."

In the 35 years since the inception of the world rankings, only 24 men have had the distinction of being No. 1 including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Tournament organizers said that in future years, other members of the 24-strong No. 1 gang are expected to take part.

(Excerpt from ESPN)

Updates
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.

World no.1 tennis players to battle out in Penang

For the first time ever Kings of Tennis, a team event, will be played between the two leading continents in tennis, America and Europe. And there's no better place to begin with than Penang, Malaysia from November 14-16, 2008.

That means this prestigious event dubbed Big Bang Penang will be held just one week before Showdown of Champions in KL.

This is pretty similar to golf's Ryder Cup. Perhaps even better because Kings of Tennis will only be participated by players who have been ranked as world no. 1 in men’s singles.

When I first heard about the idea, I got immediately excited. It is time for a new big tournament in tennis and I believe it is going to be very successful," says American Captain, Roy Emerson.

Emerson has selected a strong team consisting of John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios and Pete Sampras.

European Captain, Ilie Nastase, has faith in Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander.

"For sure this is no exhibition event. We are eager to bring the Cup to America and we will certainly not be easy to beat," says Pete Sampras, winner of a record 14 Grand Slam singles titles.

The two captains also have the luxury to choose one wild card player each to their teams. The two names will be announced well in time before the event (Come, bring Andre Agassi and Marat Safin!)

"I am considering many options, but for sure it is going to be a former world number one and Grand Slam winner," says European Captain, Ilie Nastase.

The objective of King’s of Tennis is to create the first, biggest and best annual team event for the World no.1 in tennis.

The first year eight former stars will take part, but in the future, active dominants of the game will also battle out for individual and team glory.

"I am proud to be a part of the first European team. I think we have a good chance to win. One of the key matches will definitely be me against McEnroe," says Swedish legend, Bjorn Borg.

Schedule of Play
The first tournament will be played in Esplanade, Penang, Malaysia, the 14th to 16th of November 2008.

Friday 14th of November
1 doubles match and 2 singles matches

Saturday 15th of November
1 doubles match and 2 singles matches

Sunday 16th of November
4 singles matches

Point Schedule and Match Format
The continent who earns most points will win the Cup. Each match win is worth 10 points. Additionally each game won is worth 1 point. A tiebreak game counts as an ordinary game. In the case of a match tiebreak however, every point won is worth 1 point.

The singles matches will be played in best of three sets. The final set will however be played as a Match Tiebreak (to 10 points). The doubles matches will be played in the same format, except for the no-ad scoring which will be employed.

Owners of the Event
The owners of King’s of tennis are Fredrik Alama, Bjarne Borg, Lasse Olsson, Mark Zurevinsky and Urban Johansson. The organiser is Arianna Event Management.

Tickets Availability
The tickets are open for priority booking. Please call Axcess Hotline 603 7711 5000 to place your booking now or to obtain further information. No further information of when you can purchase the ticket yet. But according to source, this event is confirmed.

(Via Kings of Tennis website)

Updates
Click here to read about the event which is now officially cancelled.