Wimbledon, London. – The ATP, governing body of the men’s professional tennis circuit, announced today that the Tennis Masters Cup will move from Shanghai to London in 2009 and be renamed as the ATP World Tour Final. The world’s best singles and doubles teams will compete in London’s O2 Arena for over $4.5 million of prize money.

“The world’s best tennis players coming together in the unique and iconic setting of London’s O2 Arena to decide who will be crowned ATP World Tour Final champion, is simply an irresistible and potent mix," said Etienne de Villiers, Executive Chairman of the ATP.

“London is the world’s most cosmopolitan city with a vibrancy and energy that makes it ideally suited to hosting this event. The ATP visits over 30 countries, so having our end of season finale in such a diverse city could not be more appropriate. With our joint promoters AEG’s expertise and the All England Club’s experience of running the Wimbledon Championships, I believe we have the perfect team in place to deliver a stunning event. ”

The event, which will be held at The O2 Arena, a designated London 2012 venue owned by AEG will see a hard court sit in the centre of the 20,000 seat state of the art arena. The venue will also create a kids zone, hosted by the LTA.

Philip Beard, Chief Executive of The O2, welcomed their role as joint promoter: “The O2 Arena is a world class venue designed to host world class music and sports events and we’re thrilled it’s the new home for the ATP’s end of season finale. Having the world’s best players battling it out in our state of the art arena is an exciting prospect and one that I know will capture the imagination of tennis fans throughout the UK and beyond.”

Roger Federer world number one, said: “I love coming to London for The Championships each summer, so I am delighted that the end of season championships will be moving to one of my favourite cities in the world. I’m sure it will be a spectacular event in what looks like a fantastic venue.”

Ian Ritchie, Chief Executive of the All England Club, said: “The reputation of The Championships as the world’s premier tennis event combined with the success of the British grass court season has consistently created a demand for more top quality international tennis in the UK. To be able to satisfy some of that demand by bringing to London another world class event such as the ATP World Tour Final is as rewarding for us as I hope it will be exciting and entertaining for all tennis fans across the country.”

Stuart Smith, President of the LTA agreed, he said: “This is great news for British tennis. Having more world class tennis being played in this country can only inspire more people, especially youngsters to take up the sport. Getting more juniors competing regularly will help us develop the game and lead to more, quality players coming through to the top level and hopefully going on to become champions of the future. The LTA is delighted to play a part in this great event.”

Now in its 8th year, the event currently brings together the eight best singles and doubles teams, based on their ATP ranking. In recognition of the importance of the Grand Slam tournaments, any current Grand Slam champion, not ranked in the top eight, is also invited to participate.

The World Tour Final will replace the Tennis Masters Cup, currently held in Shanghai’s Qi Zhong Tennis Centre, as the men’s tour’s season finale. Television coverage of the 2005 Cup was distributed to 146 countries and was watched by a cumulative world wide audience of 150 million tennis fans. The event, as in previous years, is expected to attract thousands of tennis fans from across the world.

Written by ATP