The Hall of Fame Tennis Championships has gained a new title sponsor—and a helping hand digitizing the Hall of Fame's archives.
Dell Technologies has committed to a five-year, multifaceted sponsorship of the International Tennis Hall of Fame that includes the title sponsorship of the Hall of Fame's annual ATP World Tour tournament.
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The company is also contributing its technology solutions and expertise to create a digital archive for the ITHF from its vast museum collection of artifacts, photos, video and publications.
"We are thrilled to welcome Dell Technologies as our new title sponsor, and we are very excited about this creative partnership," Todd Martin, International Tennis Hall of Fame CEO and tournament director said. "The sponsorship enables us to continue to deliver a world-class professional tennis tournament in Newport, and to grow our work to preserve and promote the history of tennis.
"While all tennis fans may not be able to visit Newport, through this initiative, they will eventually be able to engage with our museum collection online and through other special programs, so that they can learn from and be inspired by the sport's history."
The museum digitization project is a tremendous and ongoing undertaking for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The collection contains more than 25,000 artifacts of tennis history - pieces ranging from trophies to apparel to personal communications.
On top of that, there are well over 300,000 photographs, video files, publications and scrapbooks from tennis legends. By digitizing their archives on a Dell EMC Isilon Scale-out NAS storage system, the ITHF can transform content to be made available in online programs and other special initiatives.
"We are very pleased to be the new Title Sponsor of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and excited to be part of this exceptional New England tradition. We are also thrilled to play an important role in helping the Tennis Hall of Fame museum digitize and preserve its collection of artifacts from some of the most pivotal moments in tennis history for future generations to enjoy," said David Goulden, President of Dell EMC.
The Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open has been hosted at the Hall of Fame annually since 1976 and was previously known as the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. The tournament draws top ATP World Tour players to Newport for a week of world-class tennis and an array of special events on the historic grass courts of the ITHF.
In 2016, current world No. 20 Ivo Karlovic claimed the Van Alen Cup, named for Hall of Fame founder Jimmy Van Alen.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on July 22 will honor five champions for their remarkable achievements in the sport: former world No. 1's Kim Clijsters and Andy Roddick; Paralympic gold medalist Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch; tennis journalist and historian Steve Flink; and groundbreaking sports scientist Vic Braden (posthumous honor).
Tickets for the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open and the International Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony are on sale now. Ticket details and additional information is available on HallofFameTennisChampionships.com.
Photo credit: International Tennis Hall of Fame