The event will run from Jan. 3-12 at Ken Rosewall Arena as part of the new Australian summer scheduleGETTY IMAGES
Sydney will serve as "primary host" in '20 for the inaugural ATP Cup, a 24-nation "men's teams competition bringing together the best players on the planet" at the upgraded Ken Rosewall Arena at Sydney Olympic Park, according to Chris Barrett of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The preliminary round-robin rounds of the Jan. 3-12 competition will be "staged across six days in Sydney, Brisbane and a yet-to-be-confirmed third capital city, with Sydney then hosting the quarter-finals, semi-final and final over the remaining four days." The new tournament, a "re-imagining of the former ATP World Team Cup held in Dusseldorf, will come just weeks after the first installment of the controversial new Davis Cup finals." The ATP Cup is also the "centerpiece of a significant revamping of the Australian summer schedule." There has been "uncertainty about the impact on the Hopman Cup in Perth." But Tennis Australia confirmed that the Brisbane Int'l would be "retained as a women’s tournament," while the Sydney Int'l would "remain on the calendar for both men and women" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/7). In Brisbane, Paul Malone notes after the U.S. Open in September, players will be "invited to form national teams of up to five men for the ATP Cup." ATP Cup ties will "comprise two singles matches and one doubles match." ATP players "voted in favour of Australia hosting the event." Tennis Australia Head of Major Events Cameron Pearson said that the US$16M purse was the "biggest in the sport other than the four majors" (Brisbane COURIER-MAIL, 1/7).
UNCERTAIN FUTURE: In N.Y., Ben Rothenberg noted the Hopman Cup is the "lone place to see top men and top women team up besides the Olympics." The tournament's "distinction as a mixed event stands in contrast to the trend of new team tennis concepts for men only." Tennis Australia has taken an "aggressive role in event creation, cofounding the men-only Laver Cup and the ATP Cup in recent years." That focus on men's tennis "could doom the coed Hopman Cup." Perth Arena, where the Hopman Cup has been held since '13, is a "likely choice" to host ATP Cup matches. Even if Perth is not chosen, it would be "difficult to imagine Tennis Australia hosting two competing team events in the same week." The Hopman Cup has been a "crowd-pleasing event" in which the sport's "top women and top men compete and commingle" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/6).
