Turkey to host ATP grass court tournament in 2017

[May 16, 2016]  LONDON (Reuters) - Another grass court tournament will be added to the calendar next year after the ATP announced on Monday that a World Tour 250 event would be staged in Antalya, Turkey in June.

File photo of International Tennis Federation (ITF) President David Haggerty (L-R), Tennis Integrity Board Chairman Philip Brook and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Chairman Chris Kermode holding a news conference at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, Australia, January 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Reed

The tournament will take place from June 25-July 1 and give players another event at which to prepare for Wimbledon.

Next month the WTA will hold a brand new grass court event in Mallorca.

"The addition of Antalya in the ATP World Tour calendar from 2017 represents the latest enhancement to the grass court swing following the introduction of the three-week gap between Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year," ATP chief Chris Kermode said.

"We look forward to expanding our presence in an important market such as Turkey where the demand for world class tennis continues to grow, while at the same time giving our players additional grass-court playing opportunities ahead of Wimbledon."

The tournament, one of seven grass court tournaments on the ATP Tour next year, will be staged at the Kaya Palazzo Belek resort where seven grass courts will be laid.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

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