(Reuters) Ericsson cited a sluggish economy as the impetus behind the move and said the company was evaluating all its sponsorships worldwide.
The men's and women's tournament is the fifth biggest tennis event of the year behind the four Grand Slams in terms of attendance (270,000 in 2001), prize money ($6.4million/B7.1m) and field (96 men and 96 women in respective singles draws).
Ericsson's relationship with the tournament began in 1997. In 1999, Ericsson acquired the title sponsorship rights for the event which had long been known as the Lipton Championships.
Ericsson signed a five-year contract that began with the 2000 tournament. The agreement enables the telecom company to reduce its sponsorship after the 2002 tournament, which begins on March 20.
The tournament, which was founded by Butch Buchholz in 1985, is owned by IMG. It is one of nine Masters Series events put on by the ATP and is a major stop on the Sanex WTA Tour as well.
Ericsson is bowing out of its title sponsorship of the Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne after next year's event, the Swedish telecom company has said.
