ASB confirms ongoing support for the ASB Classic tennis tournament

ASB has long been a passionate supporter of tennis in New Zealand. This year the bank celebrated its 25th year sponsoring the ASB Classic tournament in Auckland by announcing it has signed as the naming rights sponsor for a further three years.

We all love tennis and look forward to this great annual event being back after a two-year Covid hiatus. The ASB Classic is one of the highlights of the summer calendar, particularly in Auckland, and is expected to bring around $27 million in much needed additional consumer spending to the Auckland region.

Media reports this week have speculated about the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players in the January 2023 event. To be clear, the 2023 tournament will go ahead as planned with ASB's full financial support.

Under Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) regulations tournament organisers must allow Russian and Belarusian players to enter the tournament if they are sufficiently well ranked.

We all understand that Tennis Auckland and Tennis New Zealand are in a difficult position and there is no suggestion that ASB would withdraw its significant financial support for the tournament should Russian or Belarusian players compete.