Shanghai will become Asia's first city to host the ATP Masters
Series from 2009 after signing an agreement with ATP on April
16.
Brad Drewett, the CEO of ATP International, signed the host
agreement with Yu Chen, director of the Shanghai Administration of
Sports, making China's economic hub a permanent home of the ATP
Masters Series tournament.
"Shanghai finally makes its dream come true," Qiu Weichang,
deputy director of the Shanghai Administration of Sports, said in
the signing ceremony.
Shanghai, which held the Masters Cup in 2002 as well as the last
two years running, will retain the season-ending men's event
through 2008 before it heads back to Europe.
The Masters Cup is open to the eight best performing players of
the year.
Women's tennis governing body the WTA two weeks ago made Beijing
a host of one of four elite events with a minimum four million U.S.
dollars each in prize money on a revamped 20-tournament top-level
calendar.
The upgrade of the China Open as a top-tier tournament is part
of a plan to improve and shorten the entire women's tennis tour
starting in 2009.
The WTA said the decision to give Beijing one of the elite
nine-day tournaments was part of plans to make tennis in China much
more popular.
"These two events will become the core of the development of
Chinese tennis, which will promote the overall tennis development
in China," said Li Youlin, deputy director of the Tennis
Administrative Center under the General Administration of Sports of
China.
Drewett said that Shanghai's enthusiasm for tennis makes it
outstanding among many of the bidding rivals.
"After years of development, Shanghai has possessed good
infrastructures, specialists and public supports, which has made
tennis part of Shanghai's culture. "
Drewett promised that ATP would bring more excellent tennis
player to the city.
Statistics showed that people who play tennis once a week at
least in Shanghai have increased from less than 10,000 in 1997 to
545,000.
(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2007)