The ATP has released the 2016 ATP World Tour calendar following approval by the ATP Board of Directors. The 2016 ATP World Tour will feature 62 tournaments in 31 countries across six continents, in addition to the four Grand Slams and the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The 2016 calendar sees the ATP retain its strongest foothold in the traditional markets of Europe and North America. In addition, recent developments are consolidated, with the extended grass-court season before Wimbledon continuing after a highly successful opening year in 2015. The four-week South American swing remains in February, highlighted by the ATP World Tour 500 event in Rio de Janeiro. And China continues to host ATP events across the ATP World Tour 250, 500 and Masters 1000 categories during the three-week Asia swing in the autumn.
“The ATP World Tour is one of sport’s few truly global sports properties, attracting approximately 4.5 million fans on-site, and more than 880 million dedicated TV viewers throughout the season,” said Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President. “Men’s professional tennis is enjoying unprecedented success thanks to an amazing generation of players as well as the strength of our global platform of tournaments. The 2016 calendar will continue to set a tremendous stage for the drama to unfold as the world’s greatest athletes strive for the ultimate prize of finishing as the year-end ATP World Tour No. 1.”
The inclusion of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro necessitates a two-week gap between the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Toronto takes place in week 31 and Cincinnati moves to week 34, with the Claro Open Colombia taking place in week 33 alongside the Olympic Games. The BB&T Atlanta Open in Atlanta moves to week 32.
“The inclusion of the Olympic Games every fourth year adds some challenges. We believe we have found the best possible outcome in what is an unavoidably congested period during the 2016 summer,” said Kermode.
The tournament category status of Vienna / Valencia for 2016 will be determined later this year. In addition, a separate announcement concerning the future of the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will follow in due course.
(Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/atp-announces-2016-atp-world-tour-calendar )
Topics: 2016 ATP World Tour Calendar, Sports, Tennis
ATP ANNOUNCES 2016 ATP WORLD TOUR TENNIS CALENDAR – http://t.co/ZGUgInwLPJ #ATPWorldTour @ATPWorldTour #tennis #2016Calendar
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RT @10sBalls_com: ATP ANNOUNCES 2016 ATP WORLD TOUR TENNIS CALENDAR – http://t.co/ZGUgInwLPJ #ATPWorldTour @ATPWorldTour #tennis #2016Calen…