ATP Is Interested In South America Expansion

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 1st March 2014

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, Atp World Tour, Chris Kermode, south america, Tennis

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

March 1, 2014 at 9:27 am

ATP Is Interested In South America Expansion – http://t.co/m9ZWTJOo1K @ATPWorldTour #ATP #SouthAmerica #tennis #news
dusanVemic says:

March 1, 2014 at 9:29 am

RT @10sBalls_com: ATP Is Interested In South America Expansion – http://t.co/m9ZWTJOo1K @ATPWorldTour #ATP #SouthAmerica #tennis #news