2015 ATP World Tour Calendar

Vcore89

Talk Tennis Guru
NEWS RELEASE
ATP Announces 2015 ATP World Tour Calendar

London, England

by Press Release
10.02.2014

AB621672548F4B5FAE49DD878053CB50.ashx
© AFP/Getty Images

The Aegon Championships, held in London, will be re-categorised as an ATP World Tour 500 event beginning in 2015.

2015 season highlighted by enhanced grass-court swing

The ATP has released the 2015 ATP World Tour calendar following meetings with its ATP Board of Directors in London last week.

The 2015 calendar will feature 62 tournaments in 31 countries across six continents and, for the first time, will incorporate a three-week grass-court swing in the lead up to The Championships, Wimbledon.

The extended grass-court swing will be comprised of events in Stuttgart, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, London-Queen’s, Halle, and a new 48-draw event in Nottingham (previously held as a 28-draw in Eastbourne). Newport will continue to be held the week after Wimbledon. In addition, Queen’s and Halle will be re-categorised as ATP World Tour 500 events, bringing the grass-court season additional weight in the 52-week Emirates ATP Rankings with a 75 percent increase in points attributed to the surface.

“The ATP World Tour is a truly global sports property, and demand for tournaments around the world is high, which reflects the strength of our product and the growing popularity of our sport,” said Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President.

“The extended grass-court season, with additional Emirates ATP Rankings points at stake, is a positive step forward,” continued Kermode. “One of our assets as a sport is to provide for variance across playing surfaces throughout the season, so the strengthening of the grass-court season is a significant enhancement for the overall calendar. In particular, I would like to thank the All England Club, led by Philip Brook, for the instrumental role it has played in achieving this positive outcome.”

The 2015 calendar sees the ATP retain its strongest foothold in the traditional markets of Europe and North America, while recent developments in the emerging markets of Asia and South America continue to take hold.

China remains the only country outside the United States to host ATP events across ATP World Tour 250 (Shenzhen), ATP World Tour 500 (Beijing), and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (Shanghai) categories. Meanwhile, the 4-week South American swing continues to be highlighted by the Rio tournament, the first ATP World Tour 500 event to be held in the continent. The weeks for the ATP World Tour 250 events in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo will be determined in due course.

The ATP will also re-introduce a third tournament in week 17 of the 2015 ATP World Tour calendar alongside the Munich and Oeiras tournaments. The week had previously held the Serbia Open in Belgrade, which saw its last edition in 2012. The ATP will be commencing an application process to lease an ATP World Tour 250 to be played outdoors on clay in the European region.
 

mike danny

Bionic Poster
Great news :)

Just one question: Now that Fed has 6 Halle titles they will still be counted in the 250 category in the future?
 

merlinpinpin

Hall of Fame
...75% increase in points attributed to the surface.

PR talk. Obviously, this is adding all the grasscourt tournaments, but for players who like grass, they will only have the opportunity to add a single ATP500 to their calendar, which is far from a 75% increase (max points when not playing the week before Wimbledon will go up from 2,250 pts to 2,750 pts, ie a 22% increase).
 

Vcore89

Talk Tennis Guru
PR talk. Obviously, this is adding all the grasscourt tournaments, but for players who like grass, they will only have the opportunity to add a single ATP500 to their calendar, which is far from a 75% increase (max points when not playing the week before Wimbledon will go up from 2,250 pts to 2,750 pts, ie a 22% increase).

It's well thought out before they held the press release.:)
 

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
Great news! :)

There's been way too many hard court tournaments. More grass tournaments is good for the game. Better late than never.
 
D

Deleted member 77403

Guest
My 2nd favourite surface :)
I play all the time on hard courts but I love playing on clay and grass way more.

When I used to play, I preferred clay courts. My game suited clay better, but to watch it is certainly grass.
 

NatF

Bionic Poster
Just like Hamburg as well right? They are still included as masters 1000 wins for Fed even though Hamburg now is a 500

Exactly. I hope one day there's a masters on grass but for now this is a good step forward. Wonder if Federer will add an extra grass tournament?
 

Vcore89

Talk Tennis Guru
Exactly. I hope one day there's a masters on grass but for now this is a good step forward. Wonder if Federer will add an extra grass tournament?

Add one? Make it a couple, yes!;) Another logistical calendar backlog...
 

Backspin1183

Talk Tennis Guru
When I used to play, I preferred clay courts. My game suited clay better, but to watch it is certainly grass.

I guess I prefer watching matches on grass over clay too. I like playing on clay more but I think I do better on grass. Unfortunately, we have very few grass courts where I live.
 

chjtennis

G.O.A.T.
Unless they have a Masters 1000 event on grass, it won't make much difference. A lot of top players just play in either Queens or Halle and then Wimbledon. I hope one of them becomes a Masters 1000 event in the future. However, this is a step in the right direction, I guess.
 
D

Deleted member 77403

Guest
I guess I prefer watching matches on grass over clay too. I like playing on clay more but I think I do better on grass. Unfortunately, we have very few grass courts where I live.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't really have anyone to play with after my teenage years, so I turned my focus onto competitive body building and muscle modelling shows during my adult life. Worked out alright for me. :)
 

mike danny

Bionic Poster
Given that the number of Masters is strictly limited there is little chance of a grass Masters.
They should take out one of the masters in the fall season.

I vote to take out Shanghai because an outdoor tournament is not a good preparation for the WTF which is indoors. So Paris being indoors stays.

Take out one of the HC masters and create a grass masters. This way the super 9 remains intact
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Great news :)

Just one question: Now that Fed has 6 Halle titles they will still be counted in the 250 category in the future?

Yes, because Halle was a 250 when he won them. You can't retroactively upgrade or downgrade tournaments. They remain what they were prior to the moment of re-grading. Case in point: Hamburg. Up to 2008, all its winners were Masters 1000 champions because, at that time, it was a Masters 1000 tournament. From 2009 onwards, it was downgraded to 500 status to make room for Madrid and Shanghai. Consequently all the winners since 2009 have been winners of a 500 tournament. But all the winners prior to that date remain Masters champions because that was its status at the time.
 

Mustard

Bionic Poster
These are good changes to put Wimbledon back a week and make Queen's Club and Halle 500 tournaments.
 
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