By Liz Clarke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 20, 2004; Page D01

In an effort to spark more interest in professional tennis, the U.S. Tennis Association is borrowing from the playbook of major league sports and fashioning a "regular season" out of its summer hard-court circuit that will culminate with its showcase event, the U.S. Open.

Details of the new U.S. Open Series will be unveiled at a news conference in New York today.

If it plays out as envisioned, it will address multiple issues that tennis players, promoters and officials have long claimed are preventing the sport from reaching its maximum audience and marketing potential.

The heart of the concept is a new tennis series -- the U.S. Open Series -- that will string together 10 existing hard-court tournaments, including Washington's annual Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Players will not only compete for each tournament's victory, but also contend for the series championship that will be crowned on the eve of the U.S. Open.

The men's and women's series champions, as well as second- and third-place finishers, will then enter the U.S. Open with the guarantee of additional prize money for their finish in the Grand Slam event.

Central to the idea is a multiyear broadcast deal between the USTA and ESPN that will give the new series a regular home on the TV dial.

The hope is to bring coherence to what has been a fragmented sport and make it easier for fans to get hooked on the game. By creating a six-week summer series, the USTA is providing a narrative designed to link one tournament to the next, making each week's event a sequel to the one that preceded it. And in securing a national TV deal, the USTA hopes fans will develop consistent viewing habits, knowing where to look for matches without thinking.

Jeff Newman, tournament director of the Legg Mason event, hailed it as a constructive, creative way to draw and retain fans.

"The inherent problem for the last decade has really been a lack of consistency -- not just for tennis fans but for sports fans -- to know when and where tennis is broadcast," Newman said yesterday. "The USTA is making a great attempt to unify the sport and make it accessible to fans."

Under the deal with ESPN, the sports network will provide weekly live coverage of U.S. Open Series matches. CBS Sports and NBC will air select weekend coverage.

The result will be more live tennis coverage during summer (100 hours of U.S. Open Series coverage), including a men's and women's final each Sunday afternoon. With a handful of national networks in the mix rather than multiple regional outlets, fans should have an easier time finding matches on TV.

CBS Sports President Sean McManus said in a statement: "As with all successful sports properties, a consistent and cohesive TV schedule is the critical platform for showcasing stars and growing the sport."

The 10 tournaments that are part of the series stand to benefit from the link with the U.S. Open and the marketing muscle that a presenting sponsor is expected to bring. Olympus and MassMutual have signed on as charter sponsors; talks are underway for a presenting sponsor to underwrite the full series.

"Any time you have the opportunity to brand yourself with the U.S. Open, which is the preeminent event in tennis, it can only make your event that much more successful," Newman said.

The benefits for players are largely financial.

Starting in 2005, the two series champions will each have their U.S. Open prize money doubled. That means, for example, that Andy Roddick would have won $2 million instead of $1 million at the 2003 U.S. Open if the bonus had been in place because he won the tournament and dominated the hard-court circuit that preceded it.

Second-place finishers will get a 50 percent boost in winnings; third-place series finishers, a 25 percent bonus.

The bonus money will be introduced on a smaller scale at this year's U.S. Open, with winning of the top three series increased by 50, 25 and 10 percent, respectively.

The U.S. Open Series kicks off July 12, with the men playing in the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles and women at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif. It continues over the next six weeks, with tournaments in Indianapolis, Toronto, Cincinnati, Montreal, Washington, New Haven, Conn., and Long Island.