JOHN MCENROE, ANDY RODDICK, JAMES BLAKE, AND JIM COURIER TO PLAY IN FIRST-EVER TENNIS EVENT AT BARCLAYS CENTER ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 7

BROOKLYN (Sept. 8, 2016) – Tennis champions John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Jim Courier will play in the first-ever tennis event at Barclays Center, the PowerShares QQQ Cup, on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.

Tickets to the PowerShares QQQ Cup will go on sale Friday, September 9, and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com, www.barclayscenter.com, or by calling 800-745-3000. Tickets are also available in person at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center starting Saturday, Sept. 10 at noon (if tickets are still available).

The PowerShares QQQ Cup at Barclays Center was originally scheduled for Dec. 3, and has been rescheduled to Jan. 7. McEnroe will replace Andre Agassi, who withdrew due to a back injury.

In a pair of one-set semifinal matches, Roddick will face Blake and McEnroe will face Courier. The winners will play in a one-set championship match.

“As a New Yorker, I’m thrilled to be part of the first-ever tennis event at Barclays Center,” said McEnroe, who won four U.S. Open Championships and three Wimbledon Championships. “New York has an incredible tennis history, so it’s fitting that Brooklyn is where we will conclude another great year of the PowerShares QQQ Series. I’m looking forward to playing in Brooklyn on January 7.”

This event revives professional tennis in Brooklyn, which has a storied history including the second-ever Davis Cup in August of 1902 at the Crescent Athletic Club and the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships at Brooklyn’s Terrace Club in 1935.

“We welcome to Barclays Center some of the greatest legends of American tennis, representing 22 Grand Slam titles, and we are proud to host Brooklyn’s first significant professional tennis event since the Open era began in 1968,” said Keith Sheldon, Senior Vice President of Programming at Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment. “We also want to thank Jeff Gewirtz, our Executive Vice President of Business Affairs, for spearheading the effort to bring this great event to Barclays Center.” 

McEnroe won seven grand slam singles titles in his career, four at the U.S. Open and three at Wimbledon, as well as nine grand slam doubles titles and one mixed doubles title. He was the top ranked player in the world from 1981 through 1984 and holds five Davis Cup titles. McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999.

Roddick was the top American man in professional tennis over the last 10 years, winning the 2003 U.S. Open while also posting runner-up finishes at Wimbledon in 2004, 2005 and 2009. He achieved the world No. 1 ranking in 2003 and guided the United States to the Davis Cup title in 2007 – the first championship for the U.S. in 12 years.

Courier won a pair of French and Australian Open singles titles in the early 1990s when he became the first American to reach the No. 1 ranking since John McEnroe in the mid-1980s. Courier was also the youngest player to reach all four major singles finals in a career when he reached the Wimbledon final in 1993 at age 22. He also guided the U.S. to Davis Cup titles in 1992 and 1995 and currently serves as the U.S. team captain. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.

Blake ended his 14-year ATP career that saw him win 10 singles titles and reach a career-high ranking of No. 4, at the 2013 U.S. Open. Blake played singles for the U.S. Davis Cup team, helping the United States win the 2007 title – the first win for a U.S. team since 1995. He won the PowerShares Series event in Salt Lake City last year and finished No. 2 on the tour’s season-long points rankings behind John McEnroe. 

In 2015, Roddick won the PowerShares Series points title in his second year of competing on the series with 1,600 points. Roddick won a record eight events Los Angeles, Lincoln, Chicago, Austin, Little Rock, Dallas, Richmond and Minneapolis. Blake finished second in the points rankings with 1,200 points, winning events in Boston and Cincinnati. The year before in 2014, McEnroe won the points title for the first time in the nine-year history of Champions Series tennis by winning events in Kansas City, Indianapolis, Nashville and Charlotte.

For the second straight year, players will make their own line calls, with the assistance of electronic line-calling.