When Serena Williams and Roger Federer played against each other for the first time last week at the Hopman Cup, it was "the ultimate expression of an event that has brought the best men and best women in tennis together for more than three decades," according to Ben Rothenberg of the N.Y. TIMES. But despite the power of seeing Williams and Federer on opposite sides of the net, "the future of the Hopman Cup is uncertain, with a new men’s team event set to eclipse it," part of "a trend of realignment and reinvention in tennis." Tennis Australia, which manages the Hopman Cup, will next year help organize the ATP Cup, a 10-day tournament that will have men’s teams from 24 countries competing across three Australian cities for ranking points and $15M in prize money. Though Federer did not participate in the Hopman Cup "through the middle years of his career, he has a long attachment to the event." He said, "Men and women, we share a lot of tournaments together, but it’s not the same as when you play each other or share the same court. So I think the players have always enjoyed this event." The Hopman Cup’s "distinction as a mixed event stands in contrast to the trend of new team tennis concepts for men only." That focus on men’s tennis "could doom the coed Hopman Cup." The tournament has been bankrolled by the Western Australian government’s tourism body, Tourism WA. Player appearance contracts "have included clauses forbidding them from criticizing Perth, and at times the programming can feel like an infomercial for the region." Not everyone "is ready to write an obituary for the event, though." ITF President David Haggerty, whose organization sanctions the Hopman Cup as its official mixed team competition, said that the event was "very, very important and should continue." Haggerty said that he expected TA to "honor its remaining contractual obligations for managing the Hopman Cup in the first week of the season." The Hopman Cup is currently scheduled to run through '22 (N.Y. TIMES, 1/5). REUTERS' Hardik Vyas reported launched in November last year, the new ATP Cup "has raised questions over the future" of the existing events in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney that serve as warmups for the Australian Open. The Hopman Cup "could be the first casualty" of the shakeup (REUTERS, 1/3).
