The Halle and Queen’s pre-Wimbledon ATP 500 events are in the running for a possible future upgrade as the sanctioning body works to add a grass-court Masters 1000 to the schedule.
ATP boss Andrea Gaudenzei told the German tennis magazine of plans afoot to possibly add a 10th Masters to the mix at a future date.
“There are three weeks between the French Open and Wimbledon. Grass is the only surface on which a Masters 1000 tournament is not played,” the former player who took command of the ATP in 2019 said.
“This means that between Rome (May) and the Canada Masters (August) in the summer, the ATP has no premium content for the fans for two months.
“Because almost all players start in the middle of the three grass weeks before Wimbledon, a grass Masters makes sense.”
With both events played the same June week, a calendar change would be in order for one or the other.
With London already hosting Wimbledon, the edge might lean towards Halle, which plays its event in a stadium designed as a smaller replica of the Wimbledon Centre Court complete with green-and-purple colour scheme.
“The Germans love tennis and its history. It’s the same with the UK market. It has the same chances as Germany grass Masters,” Gaudenzi said.
“It offers the advantage that the players are already in London before Wimbledon.
“But: London already has Wimbledon. Our plan is that there will be ten ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in the future.”
Main photo:- ATP boss Andrea Gaudenzi ©ATPTour.com
