Aegon Championships Voted ATP 250 Tournament Of The Year (Queen’s Club)

Written by: Staff on 25th February 2014

Aegon Championships Voted ATP 250 Tournament Of The Year (Queen's Club)

epa03743198 Germany's Benjamin Becker serves the ball to Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov during their third round match of the Aegon Tennis Championships at the Queen's Club in London, Britain, 13 June 2013. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPS VOTED ATP 250 TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR

The Aegon Championships has been voted ATP 250 Tournament of the Year by the players of the ATP World Tour in the 2013 awards.

It is the first time that the Aegon Championships, held every June on grass at The Queen’s Club in London, has received the award, which had gone to the tournament in Bastad, Sweden for the previous 11 years.

Michael Downey, Chief Executive at the Lawn Tennis Association, said: “We are delighted to receive this award which recognises the fabulous jobs that our Aegon Championships team, The Queen’s Club and our long-time Tournament Director and now the ATP’s Executive Chairman and President, Chris Kermode, have done over the years, and the contribution made by our commercial partners, particularly Aegon. We are now building towards making the 2014 event a success, with our sights also set firmly on 2015, when the tournament will attain ATP-500 status for the first time, at the heart of an expanded grass court season.”

Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman and President, said: “Many congratulations to the Aegon Championships for being voted as the ATP World Tour 250 of the year in 2013. I’ve experienced first-hand just how much hard work and effort the tournament team has put in over the years in ensuring a world-class event. I’m delighted that the tournament has been recognised through this award, which is truly well deserved.”

David Macmillan, Chief Marketing Officer, Aegon UK, added: “For the Aegon Championships to be voted the ATP 250 tournament of the year by the players is the best possible accolade for what is the flagship event of our partnership with British Tennis. Great credit should be given to the LTA’s tournament team that work so hard in partnership with The Queen’s Club who allow their club to be transformed every year to be ready to host this world class tennis event.”

The Tournament Awards recognise leading standards set within the ATP World Tour. The other tournament category awards went to Shanghai (Masters 1000) and Dubai (ATP 500). The Aegon Championships will be re-categorised as an ATP 500 event from 2015.

The tournament at The Queen’s Club also received an additional award for Best Player Services for the European Group in 2013, as voted by ATP staff.

The event has been staged at The Queen’s Club for more than a century, and the grass courts have been described as “the best in the world” by former champions Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, and current title-holder, Andy Murray, amongst many others. The tournament was sponsored many years by Stella Artois beer. Many players over the last 100 years refer to it as “Stella ” or “Queen’s “. It is by far one of the favorites around here. The staff loves it. Last year Pancho’s desk was next to Pippa Middletons.

Murray, who completed the Aegon Championships-Wimbledon double in 2013, has already confirmed that he will return, 9th-15th June, to try to join Roddick, Hewitt, John McEnroe and Boris Becker as the only four-time winners of one of the biggest, and most famous trophies in tennis.

Chris Kermode should be very , very proud. Until he took over his recent position as the head of the ATP he was the tournament director @ the Queens club event. Bravo Dear Chris.

For more information about the tournament, visit their website www.aegonchampionships.com

Some Additional Facts :

In 2015, along with ATP-500 status being attributed to the Aegon Championships, the grass-court season will expand by an additional week with The Championships, Wimbledon moving back a week in the calendar. The tournament will be held 15th-21st June, 2015.

Aegon is Lead Partner of British Tennis and is helping to transform the sport in this country. They’re supporting young talent through the Aegon FutureStars programme, as well as sponsoring the junior and senior GB Davis and Fed Cup teams and amateur and professional events. In addition to the Aegon Championships, Aegon also sponsor three world-class grass court tournaments; the Aegon Classic and Aegon International, and will also sponsor the new WTA and ATP events in Nottingham from 2015. For further information visit www.aegontennis.co.uk

The Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) mission is to get more people playing tennis more often, and its role is to develop, promote and govern tennis in Britain.

To find a playing partner, local court or coach please visit www.allplaytennis.com

Topics: 10sballs, AEGON Championships, Atp, Atp World Tour, Chris Kermode, Queen's Club, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News, Tournament of the Year