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Sydney and Brisbane were announced as the other
ATP Cup host cities in January, with Sydney hosting the knockout
rounds and final.
"The ATP Cup will launch the global tennis season for the men,"
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said at the Perth Arena on
Thursday.
"Four of the top 12 male players, and eight of the top 24, will
play in Perth, with 24 teams competing across three cities --
Perth, Brisbane and Sydney."
The ATP Cup will have 750 ranking points and $22 million in
prize money up for grabs.
The event leaves no room in the revamped tennis calendar for the
Hopman Cup, which is popular with players and has traditionally
served as a warm-up for the Australian Open, the year's first
Grand Slam.
Paul McNamee, founder of the Hopman Cup and a four-time doubles
Grand Slam champion, said he did not know if the tournament
would move to another city.
"My immediate feeling is sadness that it's not going to be there
anymore and concern about where the Hopman Cup may be in the
future," he told ABC News.
Roger Federer faced Serena Williams as Switzerland beat the
United States at this year's Hopman Cup and McNamee said
watching two of the sport's biggest names battle it out was a
fitting farewell.
"If there was a sign off... to say well, bye bye Hopman Cup, it
was the fact that probably the two greatest players in the
history of the sport, Roger Federer and Serena Williams, went on
court at the Perth Arena and went head-to-head."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, Editing by Simon
Jennings)
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