ATP Is Interested In South America Expansion

Written by: on 1st March 2014
Tennis Dubai ATP Championships
ATP Is Interested In South America Expansion

epa04103674 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany serves the ball to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during their semifinal match for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis ATP Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 28 February 2014. EPA/ALI HAIDER  |

With a successful run of February events in South America concluded, the ATP has its eyes on possible expansion in the region, where the bottom line is looking more than positive after decades of tennis famine.

 

New ATP boss Chris Kermode is a keen supporter of more and bigger events for the region. “The opportunities for growth for the ATP World Tour in an emerging market like Latin America are very exciting,” he told dpa. “We’ve seen some interesting developments in the last couple of years alone, with the addition of an ATP World Tour 250 event in Bogota, Colombia, as well as the first ever ATP World Tour 500 event to be held in the continent, in Rio de Janeiro. “There is a huge passion for tennis in the region.”

 

The London-based Briton said the sanctioning body is looking seriously at expansion in the region, buoyed in part by the 2016 Rio Olympics. “We are a truly global sports property with 61 tournaments in 30 countries and we have a responsibility to strengthen our global footprint of tournaments.

 

“The recent developments in Latin America have been encouraging, and the ATP 500 event in Rio has been a great first step towards having bigger events in the region. In principle, the idea of a Masters 1000 in South America is very appealing.

 

“We are fortunate that demand for our events across the globe is very high, and it is something that we will continue to evaluate when we periodically review our structure of tournaments and the overall calendar.”

Topics: , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.