Men’s tennis’ elite global ATP Tour has announced that its season-ending finals will continue to be hosted in Italy through the end of the decade courtesy of a renewed deal with the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP) governing body.
To facilitate this, the Italian Ministry of Sport has committed as much as $100 million in investment to support the annual event.
This new five-year deal, running through the 2030 ATP Finals, will bring Italy’s stewardship of the event to 10 editions, making it the third-longest running host of the event after New York City, US (1977-89) and London, UK (2009-20).
Andrea Gaudenzi, chair of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), stated: “Over the past four years, Italy has shown itself as an incredible host of our most prestigious event, with the vision to create a truly special experience for both players and fans.”
In its 2024 edition, won by Italian Jannik Sinner yesterday (17 November), the ATP Finals drew a record on-site audience of 183,000 fans, selling out all 15 sessions.
The ATP Finals are currently held annually in the Italian city of Turin at the Pala Alpitour stadium, Italy’s largest indoor sporting arena, in a deal running through the 2025 edition.
However, the FITP has not put forward a host city from 2026 onwards, with Milan reportedly set to contend with Turin for future hosting rights.
Milan does not host an event on the ATP Tour, although it stages the Aspria Tennis Cup annually on the ATP’s developmental Challenger Tour.
Rome, the Italian Capital, hosts the top-line ATP 1000 Italian Open every year and is not set to be considered as a future ATP Finals host.
It has been reported that Japanese materials manufacturer Nitto, the title sponsor of the ATP Finals since 2017, is pushing for a move to Milan, a larger city with better international transport links and likely better able to attract further international attention.
Italian tennis is in a boom period powered by current men’s world number one Sinner, winner of two grand slams this year (Australian Open and US Open), and women’s world number 10 Jasmine Paolini, a BJK Cup finalist with Italy in 2023.