London Keeps ATP World Tour Finals
The ATP World Tour Finals, which start in London on Sunday, is set remain in the capital until 2018.
The tournament has been held at the O2 Arena in Greenwich since 2009, welcoming over 1.5m fans over the past six years.
The alternatives were taking the event to Asia, where it has been previously held in Shanghai, or Europe.
ATP executive chairman and president, Chris Kermode said: “We are delighted to have reached an agreement which will see the tournament celebrate its 10th successive year in London in 2018.
“The tournament has been a spectacular success since moving to The O2 in 2009, generating record crowds, incredible atmospheres, and a soaring worldwide TV audience which broke the 100 million mark for the first time last year.
“The O2 has enabled us to present the sport in a new and vibrant way, in a media-friendly time zone, and in one of the world’s greatest cities,” continued Kermode. “For us, there is currently no better place to stage our season-ending event.”
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, welcomed news of the event staying in the capital for a further three years, adding: “I am a huge tennis fan and as Mayor am immensely proud to see the phenomenal success of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals here in London, underlining our city’s status as the home of sport.
“What’s not to love about having the best men’s tennis players in full flight at one of the world’s greatest venues? It’s an event that attracts hundreds of thousands of fans each year and I am thrilled that the capital is to continue hosting what has become one of the highlights of the sporting calendar.”
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