One of tennis' biggest tournaments could be heading to Great Britain, with Manchester representatives declaring an "interest in staging" the Women's Tennis Association Finals from '19. The season-ending event is currently four years into a five-year deal with Singapore. The WTA started to explore potential new venues and confirmed that Manchester was a "strong contender to host the marquee tournament." The WTA said, "We're in the early stages of this process. Manchester is one of several destinations that have reflected an initial interest in learning more about the opportunity" (London INDEPENDENT, 4/9).
Rio de Janeiro is set to host the 2020 Pan-American Masters Games. The organizers of the second Pan-American Masters intend to use the Olympic venues as much as possible, including the Maracaña Stadium for the opening ceremony. The Rio 2016 venues are currently in the process of being converted into their post-Games configurations (IOC).
Singapore has "finally been confirmed as the venue for Scotland’s Test match against Italy this summer," the first to be played by Scotland under incoming coach Gregor Townsend. As previously announced, the squad will then travel to play Australia in Sydney then Fiji in Suva, with the three matches taking place on successive Saturdays in June (HERALD SCOTLAND, 4/8).
The World Superbike Championship will visit a new Argentinian circuit, the Autodromo Villicum, starting next season. The 4.7km circuit, in Argentina's San Juan province, is currently under construction, but is "close to being completed." As well as World Superbikes, the track is "set to also host national touring car championships, and will have its own karting track" (MOTORSPORT, 4/9).
Afghanistan's cricketers "will play at Lord's for the first time in July after being granted a fixture" against the Marylebone Cricket Club. The 50-over match at the home of world cricket was confirmed by the MCC on Friday (REUTERS, 4/7).
