Tennis administrator Richard Palmer has been confirmed in a new role at Tennis Auckland which will see him become the tournament director of both the 2011 ASB Classic and Heineken Open.

Palmer who had previously been the tournament director of the ASB Classic for 12 years and the Heineken Open for the past two years takes on a role as the new Events Manager which will see him work on all aspects of the international tournaments as a project for the whole year.

"It’s a new challenge. I’m really looking forward to being part of a team dedicated to working with our sponsors both for the ASB Classic and the Heineken Open. We aim to make sure these tournaments are competitive on the international stage and to develop them so everybody benefits," says Palmer.

"Key to this is to work closely with our stakeholders at all levels as well as encompassing the needs of tennis people, the media, sporting public, and volunteers.

Palmer was formerly the tennis operations manager at Tennis Auckland for a number of years and has a varied career involved in many different sports such as tennis and rugby around the world.

"With the new and exciting development of the ASB Tennis Centre, Tennis Auckland has decided that it is time to re-align our organisation to have a team with total focus on the ASB Classic and the Heineken Open 12　months a year," explains Tennis Auckland CEO Greig Bramwell.

Our goal is to continue to make these events bigger and better for the public and sponsors, and we are very excited that Richard Palmer has accepted this challenge to take these premier sporting events to a new level," says Bramwell.

The 2011 ASB Classic will be held 3-8 January followed by the Heineken Open 10-15 January 2011.

For more information please contact:

Richard Palmer – Tennis Auckland Events Manager

021 365 224

Greig Bramwell – Tennis Auckland CEO

0274 328 574

Dave Worsley – Media Manager

021 365 224