Emirates airlines has decided to drop its role as the title sponsor of the U.S. Open Series, the *SportsBusiness Journal* has reported. It will transfer its attention to TV and the U.S. Open.
Emirates, which signed a seven-year deal to become the title sponsor in 2012, will pay the same multimillion dollar amount but instead become the naming rights sponsor of Hawk-Eye replays during Series tournaments and have more prominence during the U.S. Open.
The USTA will also still make the same payments to tournaments under the agreement, which are about $250,000 on average, according to SBJ. But it will stop bonus payments to players for their performance during the Series, which provided players with increased winnings at the U.S. Open.
The Series will not get another title sponsor, but will instead promote its youth tennis initiatives, said Stacey Allaster, the USTA’s CEO of pro tennis.
“We want to use pro tennis in the United States to get more kids on the court," Allaster told SBJ.
Emirates did not comment on the adjustments in its sponsorship deal.