Champions Cup Naples lands Michael Chang

The Champions Cup Series went to another French Open champion to complete its inaugural field.

1989 French Open winner Michael Chang will join seven other legends at the Champions Cup Naples from March 10-13 at The Players Club & Spa at Lely Resort.

"We're thrilled," said Jon Venison, co-founding partner of InsideOut Sports & Entertainment, which runs the Champions Cup Series. "We are absolutely thrilled. Michael is obviously one of the most recent icons in international tennis. It's a treat for us to have him as part of the series."

Chang joins Cup Series organizer Jim Courier, also a former French Open champion, as well as John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, Pat Cash, Petr Korda, Mikael Pernfors and Aaron Krickstein. Courier, McEnroe and Wilander are all former world No. 1s.

Chang originally was going to debut at the Cup Series event in Boston in April. Other tournaments are in Memphis (Oct. 5-8) and Houston (Nov. 9-12). The Series had its first-ever tournament in Houston late last year.

Individual and series tickets start at $15 and can be purchased by calling 649-7171 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

Venison said ticket sales are going well, but many people are awaiting the announcement of the draw. He said that will occur next week.

"We will get a bunch of people who are interested in specific days and not the series as a whole because they aren't going to be in town for all of it," Venison said.

Venison said exhibition events tied into the tournament will be announced shortly. A Kids Day will be held the morning of Saturday, March 11.

"Any kids can come and be taught by the pros for free," Venison said.

Liberty Youth Ranch and First Serve are the tournament charities.

In order to be eligible for the Champions Cup Series, players must have reached at least a Grand Slam singles final, been ranked in the top five in the world or played singles on a winning Davis Cup team.

All Champions Cup Series events will feature eight-man round-robin match formats with the winner of each four-player division meeting in the championship match. Second-place finishers in each division meet in a third-place match.