SYDNEY: The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) announced Monday that the Australian cities of Sydney and Brisbane have been selected as hosts of the inaugural ATP Cup event in January 2020. The former will host the final of the tournament for the first three seasons.
Sydney will witness a $50.5 million worth of upgrades to the ANZ Olympic Park Tennis Centre which includes a new roof on Ken Rosewall Arena and Court 1.
NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said he was delighted that the city had secured the Finals matches until 2022.
“This is another coup for our state, not only for athletes and sporting fans but the wider NSW community who are set to win from the estimated $36.5 million injection into our local economy,” Marshall stated.
The ATP Cup will act as a precursor to the annual Australian Open in Melbourne. It was announced last year and is set to replace the recently concluded Hopman Cup, which was won by Roger Federer’s Switzerland team.
“With more than 100 players from 24 nations vying for USD $15 million in prize money and 750 ATP Ranking points, the ATP Cup will help us launch the global tennis season every January in Australia,” Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said.
“The ATP Cup fits perfectly with our strategy to innovate and look towards the future. We know from our extensive discussions with the players that the ATP Cup will provide a great way for them to open their season – bringing together the world’s best for a major team event that compliments existing scheduling, provides highly-coveted ATP Ranking points and clearly links to the Australian Open,” ATP President and chairman Chris Kermode added.
“The first week of the season is when the players want to play and that’s why the tournament has their strong support. By staging the event with Tennis Australia, which is renowned for its experience as an outstanding event promoter, we know that the tournament will be a great success from year one.”
