NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters begins today in Belgium- Twenty players compete in year-end championship of wheelchair tennis -

*** For immediate use November 6, 2012

London & Brussels, 06 November 2012 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) is sponsoring the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, the International Tennis Federation's (ITF) year-end singles championship for 20 of the world's top ranked wheelchair tennis players, which is taking place on 7-11 November 2012 in Mechelen's Heiveld Tennis Centre (Hagelsteinweg 1, 2860 Sint Katelijne Waver, Belgium).

The prestigious tournament sees players compete in three divisions - men, women and quadriplegic - over a period of five days, with the quadriplegic singles final on Saturday, 10 November and the men's and women's singles finals on Sunday, 11 November.

The ITF has invited eight men, eight women and four quadriplegic players based on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour Ranking of 8 October, after the completion of the US Open USTA Championships, the final Super Series event of the season. The Wheelchair Tennis Masters was originally established in 1994 and has been sponsored by NEC since its inception.

Naoki Iizuka, President & CEO, NEC Europe Ltd., said, "I think the Tennis Masters adds excitement for the players and motivation to win other tournaments and reach the highest ranking, for a chance to play in this tournament. The Paralympics in London have shown that the public has a huge interest, too, to see the best athletes that have accomplished so much. NEC is proud to have been a sponsor of the Wheelchair Tennis Masters for the last 18 years."

Mark Bullock, ITF Wheelchair Tennis Manager, said, "To earn the prestigious title of NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters champion, a player must defeat several of their strongest rivals in arguably the most competitive tournament of the year. On the back of the success of the London 2012 Paralympics, we look forward to another exciting tournament in Belgium."

Wheelchair tennis was born in California, USA, in 1977 and has since spread across the globe. In 1992, the ITF created a tour for players, the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour, and ran 21 tournaments in 13 countries. In 1994, the ITF launched the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters as the most prestigious event on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour. In all the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour included 167 tournaments in 46 countries this year.

Wheelchair tennis follows the same rules as able-bodied tennis as endorsed by the ITF, with the only exception being that the wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball. To be eligible to compete, a player must have a medically diagnosed permanent mobility related physical disability which must result in a substantial loss of function in one or both lower extremities.

The daily schedule for the tournament is as follows:

Tuesday 6 November
18.00 Draw at City Hall
Followed by dinner

Wednesday 7 November
09.30 Schools Clinic, province of Antwerpen
11.00 Start matches
13.30 Clinics for able-bodied children from the local tennis club

Thursday 8 November
09.30 Schools Clinic, province of Antwerpen
11.00 Start matches
13.30 Schools Clinic, province of Antwerpen
18.00 VIP evening with reception
19.00 Exhibition with Dominique Monami and Els Callens (Sydney 2000 Olympic women's doubles bronze medallists) and top Belgian wheelchair tennis players Joachim Gerard and Gert Vos. Followed by DJ with music

Friday 9 November
09.30 Schools Clinic, province of Antwerpen
11.00 start matches
13.30 Schools Clinic, province of Antwerpen
18.00 Seminar VUB + jubilee with reception and buffet dinner
Followed by DJ with music

Saturday 10 November
09.00 Tennis tournament for players with learning disabilities
11.00 Start matches with the Quadriplegic final at 11.00
20.00 NEC Players Farewell Dinner (Novotel Mechelen)

Sunday 11 November
09.00 VTV Congress
11.00 Start matches (3rd & 4th places men and women)
11.00 NEC Masters Brunch
13.00 Final Women
FB      Final Men
Followed by reception

About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society.  For more information, visit NEC at
http://www.nec.com.

NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Other product or service marks mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. (C)2012 NEC Corporation.

About the International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the world governing body of tennis, one of the few truly global sports. The objective of the ITF is to further grow and develop the sport worldwide; to develop the game at all levels at all ages for both able-bodied and disabled men and women; to make, amend and uphold the rules of the game, to promote the International Team Championships and competitions of the ITF; to preserve the integrity and independence of tennis as a sport; and to perform all without discrimination on grounds of colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, age, sex or religion.

The ITF has 210 member National Associations - more than most other international sporting federations. Member nations come from every continent, and each association is involved in organising tennis and promoting the interests of the game

NEC Press Contacts

(Europe)
Shinya Hashizume
NEC Europe Ltd.
+44-20-8752-2796
E-Mail:shinya.hashizume@emea.nec.com

(Japan)
Takehiko Kato
NEC Corporation
+81-3-3798-6511
E-Mail:t-kato@cj.jp.nec.com