London faces competition from Manchester in the north west of England, Singapore, Tokyo in Japan and Turin in Italy to retain hosting rights to the ATP Finals, the lucrative season-ending tournament in men’s tennis.

The five cities have been shortlisted as potential hosts for the 2021 to 2025 period following a global tender process managed by the Sport Business Group at Deloitte, the global advisory firm.

The winning city is not expected to be announced before March 2019. 

Some 40 cities worldwide expressed an interest in hosting the tournament when the bid process formally opened in August.

The ATP Finals have been staged in London since 2009, and the event has been deemed a major economic and commercial success, with the 17,500-seat O2 venue a regular sell-out.

Chris Kermode, ATP executive chairman and president, said today: “The level of interest we have received worldwide throughout the bid application process reflects the rich heritage of this unique tournament, as well as the success of the event at The O2 since 2009. It has been a highly competitive process, and the candidate cities on the shortlist deserve huge credit for the passion and creative vision they have shown in their respective plans to continue the growth of our showpiece event.

“The ATP Finals have never stood still, remaining vibrant and relevant to fans, sponsors and media worldwide at every turn. There’s no question that London has set a very high benchmark and, with the final shortlist announced today, we believe we will be well-placed to determine the next exciting chapter of a tournament that has come to represent the absolute pinnacle in men’s professional tennis.”

Of the bidders, Singapore has a gap in its end-of-season tennis calendar, with the women's WTA Finals to switch to Shenzhen in China in a 10-year deal starting next October, when the prize money will double to $14 million. The WTA Finals had been held in Singapore for the past five years.

Tokyo was the very first host of the ATP Finals, back in 1970. Prior to the ATP Finals moving to London the event was held at a variety of venues, including a 13-year spell at New York’s Madison Square Garden in the 1970s and 1980s. Lisbon, Sydney, Houston and Shanghai (2002 and 2005 to 2008) all played host in the 2000s.

This year's $8.5-million Nitto ATP Finals were won by rising German star Alexander Zverev (pictured).

Sportcal