Hong Kong tennis bosses ‘thrilled’ to have signed 5-year deal to bring ATP Tour 250 event back to city
- Agreement with global sports firm IMG will see tournament staged at Victoria Park in first week in January from 2024 through 2028
- President of Hong Kong Tennis Association delighted to have made goal of bringing elite men’s game back to city a reality
Hong Kong will be home to an ATP Tour 250 event for at least the next five years, after global sports marketing group IMG announced a new partnership with the city’s tennis association.
Confirming the Post’s story on Saturday, officials said in a statement that the event would be held at Victoria Park in the first week of January, starting next year, marking the return of men’s elite tennis to Hong Kong after more than 20 years.
The event, which is one of several run by IMG, including the Madrid and Miami Opens, had been staged in India in various guises for the past 27 years, with it being the Tata Open in Pune for the last five.
Philip Mok Kwan-yat, president of the Hong Kong Tennis Association, said he was “thrilled” to be making the goal of bringing ATP tennis back to the city a reality.
“Our men’s exhibition event in December 2022 was so well received by both fans and players, and we believe it was the right time,” Mok said. “An ATP 250 event will complement our existing WTA 250 and ensure local fans can experience the very best of both men’s and women’s professional tennis.”
With total prize money of more than US$650,000 and a 28-player singles draw, the hard court tournament, will be the first ATP Tour tournament to be staged in Hong Kong since 2002.
The tournament’s position in the week from December 31 to January 7 makes it ideal for players heading to the Australian Open, the first grand slam of the year.
IMG tennis boss Gavin Forbes welcomed the agreement to bring the event back to a city with an “established tennis market with a passionate fan base”.
Mok said the addition of the ATP event to the city’s sporting calendar formed a key part of the association’s “player development goals and our strategy to grow tennis”.
“Besides bringing another exciting international event to the city, the new tournament will serve as an additional platform for the association to further promote various aspects of the sport,” he said.
Women’s elite tennis will return to the city in October, when the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open resumes for the first time since 2018. Then, the event attracted a record attendance of close to 72,000 and was voted WTA International Tournament of the Year.
Hong Kong was home to a popular ATP tournament at Victoria Park between 1990 and 2002, which became a mainstay on the international tennis calendar. It attracted players such as grand slam champions Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, and Michael Chang.
