LONDON, December 29, 2016
The Aegon Championships has been voted ATP World Tour Tournament of the Year for a fourth consecutive year in its category in the annual ATP World Tour awards, presented by Moët & Chandon.
It is the second year in a row that the annual grass court event at The Queen’s Club has received the award as an ATP-500 tournament. It was also recognised as the best by the players in the ATP-250 category in 2013 and 2014. In 2017, the tournament will expand its Centre Court capacity by 30%. More than 2,000 additional seats will be added to the current 6,942, taking the capacity to more than 9,000.
Tournaments of the ATP 500-series in 2016:
|
Tournament ATP 500 |
Surface | Prize Money Mio. $ | Top 10 Players |
Cut |
| Acapulco | Hard | 1,551 | 2 | 93 |
| Barcelona | Clay | 2,640 | 2 | 108 |
| Basel | Indoors | 2,340 | 3 | 62 |
| Dubai | Hard | 2,674 | 3 | 63 |
| Halle | Grass | 1,980 | 4 | 64 |
| Hamburg | Clay | 1,640 | – | 160 |
| Beijing | Hard | 4,164 | 4 | 53 |
| Rio de Janeiro | Clay | 1,471 | 3 | 90 |
| Rotterdam | Indoors | 1,870 | – | 61 |
| Tokyo | Hard | 1,506 | 3 | 54 |
| London Queens | Grass | 2,090 | 4 | 60 |
| Washington | Hard | 1,872 | – | 135 |
| Vienna | Indoors | 2,680 | 3 | 55 |
Stephen Farrow, Aegon Championships Tournament Director, said: “Any time a tournament is voted for by the players as the best in its category is something to celebrate, but this year it is particularly satisfying. The weather in 2016 posed a number of challenges for us, and it is a huge credit to everyone involved in the tournament that we were still able to produce an event that the players felt inclined to recognise in this way. We look forward to running an even better tournament in 2017 with more people able to watch the action than ever before.”
Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman and President, said: “The Aegon Championships has set the benchmark in the ATP World Tour 500 category for a second consecutive year and fully deserves this recognition from the players. Our tournaments are continuously striving to reach greater heights, and this is a fitting recognition of the tireless work and effort of the team that puts on such an outstanding tournament each year at The Queen’s Club – many congratulations.”
Tara McGregor-Woodhams, Head of Brand & Sponsorship, Aegon UK said: “This is a fantastic award for the flagship event of our partnership with British Tennis. It’s a wonderful tournament and appropriate recognition for the efforts put in by Stephen Farrow and his team.”
The ATP’s Tournament Awards recognise leading standards set within the ATP World Tour. The ATP-1000 award for 2016 went to Indian Wells. The ATP-250 category was split between Stockholm and Winston-Salem.
The Aegon Championships has been staged at The Queen’s Club for more than a century, with Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray just some of the names on the Roll of Honour. Murray won a record-breaking fifth title in 2016 with a three-set victory over Milos Raonic in the final.
The 2017 edition of the Aegon Championships will take place 19th-25th June and will be broadcast live throughout by the BBC and Eurosport.
