Sport | Tennis
Sports City likely to host tennis cup
Dubai Tennis Championship organisers Dubai Duty Free will hold talks with authorities from Dubai Sports City about the possibility of hosting the next edition of the tournament.
- By Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:47 July 29, 2008
Dubai: Dubai Tennis Championship organisers Dubai Duty Free will hold talks with authorities from Dubai Sports City about the possibility of hosting the next edition of the tournament.
"We have initiated talks with senior authorities from the Dubai Sports City to see if we can utilise their tennis stadium for next year's Dubai Tennis Championships," Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free told Gulf News.
Both the ATP and WTA Tours have adopted major changes starting from 2009.
The ATP Tour will undergo its largest set of changes since its creation in 1990. As well as new tournaments and a record-breaking level of prize money, the ATP will also introduce a new brand look and identity, designed to make the Tour more fan friendly by linking tournaments to their ranking point levels of either 1000, 500 or 250.
The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships will also witness some alterations with the ATP Men's competition classified as a '500' event, while the women's tournament has been given a 'premier' status by the WTA.
"For us the major challenge will be logistical more than anything," McLoughlin stated.
Growing popularity
"The draw will be for 56 players, so that would mean more hotel rooms, more courts for practice and more people in the players' lounge," McLoughlin said.
However, one of the main reasons for looking at a new facility other than the 5,000-strong Dubai Tennis Stadium is the growing popularity of this annual two-week competition.
"We need to have a look at the alternatives before us if we are going to have the same sort of attendance on each day. We have to see if the existing stadium is adequate or we need to have contingencies in place," McLoughlin said.
"For the time-being the tournament will be held at the same venue, but we have to seriously weigh several factors before we arrive at a final decision.
"Next year will be a real test for the organisation of the tournament. The good thing is that we have alternatives for the future," he added.
McLoughlin also disclosed that the prize money for both the men's and women's tournaments would be hiked to $2 million each from its existing $1.5 million.
"We were the first to introduce equal money for both tournaments and we would like to continue with this," McLoughlin stated.
The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships is held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
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