It was announced today that Shanghai, China’s largest city, will host the 2002 Tennis Masters Cup, the season-ending tournament co-owned by the ATP, Grand Slams and the ITF. The eight best players of the year will compete to win this prestigious title and potentially be crowned World No.1. The 2002 men’s year-end finale will be the biggest professional sporting event China has ever hosted.
‘We are thrilled to have our third Tennis Masters Cup in such a unique city as Shanghai and feel privileged to be the first major individual sport to bring its world championship to China,’ said Mark Miles, CEO of the ATP. ‘Our goal, along with the Grand Slams and the ITF, was to share this event on a rotating basis with the world’s greatest cities. From Lisbon last year, to Sydney this year and now Shanghai, it has proven to be a truly global event.’
‘With the help of the Grand Slam Development Fund, the ITF takes pride in the work it has done to grow the game of tennis in China,’ said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. ‘There is an enormous enthusiasm for tennis in China and we feel the combination of a great venue and top players will make the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai a huge success.’
Asia has enormous growth potential for tennis
The bid for the Tennis Masters Cup comes from the Shanghai Administration of Sport, with direct backing from the Shanghai Municipal Government and the central government in Beijing, who are also a candidate for the 2008 Olympic Games.
The event will be held in November 2002 at the Shanghai New Expo Centre. The center, planned to house 15 convention halls, is a joint partnership between the Shanghai Municipal Government and Messe, Hannover, Munich and Dusseldorf. The fifth hall, due for completion in March next year, will provide a 10,000+ seat venue to stage the Tennis Masters Cup.
Shanghai will be the third city to host the year-end finale, with the second Tennis Masters Cup being held this November at the Sydney SuperDome in Australia. Shanghai has been the home of the very successful Heineken Open for the past three years.
‘We are very pleased that Shanghai has been selected as the first Asian city to host the 2002 Tennis Masters Cup and are grateful to the ATP, Grand Slams and ITF for choosing Shanghai,’ said Mr Jing Guo Xiang, President of the Shanghai Administration of Sport. ‘The Tennis Masters Cup will promote the game of tennis all over China and encourage more Chinese to play tennis. We believe the tournament will help develop friendship, communication and understanding.’
‘We are particularly pleased to award Shanghai the bid for an event as important as the Tennis Masters Cup,’ said Geoff Pollard, President of Tennis Australia, owner of the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open. ‘Asia has enormous growth potential for tennis and is an important part of our region. The Tennis Masters Cup should prove to be a catalyst for tennis to begin to fulfill its potential in this part of the world.’
The Tennis Masters Cup has replaced the ATP World Championship and Grand Slam Cup. The top eight players at the end of each year compete in a round robin format for US$3.7 million in prize money and the chance to end the year as World No. 1. The 2001 Tennis Masters Cup begins on November 12 in Sydney.
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ATP Tennis Media Office
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