World Cup Tennis Raises Prize Money

The new sponsor of the World Team Cup tennis tournament has raised the prize money purse from $500,000 to $750,000 for the annual eight-team event, organizers announced.

The French car company Peugeot, which has signed a three-year contract to sponsor the May tournament, will provide the bulk of the money, tournament chief Horst Klosterkemper told a news conference.

Peugeot replaces another French company, the cosmetics concern L’Oreal, as the World Team Cup’s main sponsor.

The prize for the winning team will be raised to $300,000, $50,000 more than in previous years, Klosterkemper said. The losing finalists will receive $150,000.

This year’s tournament is scheduled for May 18-24 in Duesseldorf, with the following teams taking part: Defending champion France, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Spain, Argentina, Australia, United States and West Germany.

The teams are split into two groups, with the winners of each group advancing to the final. The second-placed team in each group will receive $75,000 each, the third-placed teams will get $30,000 each, while the bottom-placed teams will receive $20,000 each. In addition, the best doubles pair will get a special award of $50,000.