LONDON, May 16, 2016
The ATP announced on Monday enhancements to the 2017 grass-court swing in the lead-up to The Championships at Wimbledon, with the inclusion of a new ATP World Tour 250 event in Antalya, Turkey.
The Kaya Group and GD Tennis Academy will organise the tournament with the support of the Turkish Tennis Federation from 25 June to 1 July 2017.
The tournament will feature a 28-draw singles event and a 16-draw doubles event, with total prize money of €481,615. Seven grass courts will be constructed under the expert guidance of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon. It will be the second ATP World Tour tournament to be held in Turkey, following the successful staging of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open for the past two years.
Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: “The addition of Antalya in the ATP World Tour calendar from 2017 represents the latest enhancement to the grass court swing following the introduction of the three-week gap between Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year. We look forward to expanding our presence in an important market such as Turkey where the demand for world class tennis continues to grow, while at the same time giving our players additional grass-court playing opportunities ahead of Wimbledon.”
The tournament will be hosted at the Kaya Palazzo Belek, a luxury hotel resort that includes an 18-hole golf course and multiple football fields where top Turkish and international teams train. The 7 grass courts will be added to facilities that already feature 10 clay courts, 8 hard courts, and 4 indoor courts, with the official hotel in close proximity. Established in 2004, the GD Tennis Academy has significant experience in hosting international tennis events.
Akif Çağatay Kılıç, Turkish Sports Minister, said: “Turkey continues to lead the way in investing in new facilities and infrastructures, hosting numerous international sporting events thanks to its world-class facilities. Our country is playing an important part in the continued growth of international tennis, as well as a number of other sports. The TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open is just one example of our recent investment into facilities and infrastructure. We are delighted that the Antalya Open will now join the ATP World Tour calendar from 2017, and I would like to thank all the organizations that have contributed to make this a reality.”
Cengiz Durmuş, President of the Turkish Tennis Federation, said, “The Turkish Tennis Federation is very proud to host one of seven ATP grass-court tournaments with the inaugural Antalya Open in Turkey. We hope to continue to grow our presence in tennis through our international events and the success of our players. We are pleased to be increasing our cooperation with the ATP.”
In 2017, the Aegon Open Nottingham, an ATP World Tour 250 grass-court tournament, will also return to Eastbourne, taking place in the same week as Antalya. It was previously held as a combined event at Devonshire Park from 2009 to 2014.
There will be seven ATP World Tour grass-court tournaments in 2017, including two ATP World Tour 500 tournaments, the Gerry Weber Open in Halle and the Aegon Championships in London. There will also be five ATP World Tour 250 events, the MerdedesCup in Stuttgart, the Ricoh Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Eastbourne and Antalya.
