Manchester on shortlist to stage tennis finals

Manchester has joined current hosts London on a five-city shortlist to stage the ATP Finals from 2021.

The city joins Singapore, Tokyo and Turin after more than 40 cities expressed an initial interest in hosting the season finale.

Manchester lost out to the Chinese city of Shenzhen earlier this year in its attempt to host the WTA Finals – the women’s equivalent of the ATP Finals.

A decision on the ATP Finals host will be made by March 2019 at the earliest.

London has hosted the event since 2009 and has drawn a cumulative total of more than 2.5 million spectators to the O2 Arena since then.

“It has been a highly competitive process, and the candidate cities on the shortlist deserve huge credit for the passion and creative vision they have shown in their respective plans to continue the growth of our showpiece event,” said ATP president Chris Kermode.

Cllr Luthfur Rahman, executive member for schools, culture and leisure for Manchester City Council, said: “Manchester is a great sporting city and we have a clear strategy to attract world class events, which not only boost the economy but also inspire people to emulate their heroes.

“Getting this far in the process is testament to the strength of our bid and our enthusiasm.

“We would like to thank the ATP for shortlisting us and we will continue to work hard to persuade them that Manchester would be the ideal venue for their showpiece event.”

Earlier this month it was confirmed that Manchester City’s Academy Stadium will stage games in the 2021 Women’s European Championship after England was named as competition host.