The Lawn Tennis Association has confirmed that the Queen’s Club will host a WTA Tour event next summer as part of a shake-up of the grass court season.
The governing body has spoken of a desire to raise the profile of women’s tennis and promote it to more people due to the changes, which will see the status of the Birmingham and Eastbourne tournaments reduced.
The new women’s event, which will take place in the week after the French Open, means a tour-level women’s tournament will be held in London for the first time in more than 50 years.
It means Birmingham’s Edgbaston Priory club, which has hosted a WTA Tour event since 1982, will now host a combined men’s and women’s second-tier tournament during the second week of the French Open.
The joint men’s and women’s event in Nottingham will take place in the same week as the men’s tournament at Queen’s, with the combined event in Eastbourne the week before Wimbledon now at the lowest level of 250 for both tours.
Last month, the LTA revealed that a sticking point was the ATP’s concerns about the impact on its event, second only in status to Wimbledon at the British grass-court tournament, of a women’s tournament the previous week.
LTA director of major events and digital Chris Pollard admitted the deal could only last a year if the men’s players are not happy.
British players Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu could play at Queen’s Club next year
“We are absolutely confident that we can put on a two-week event at the Queen’s Club,” he said.
“Clearly, the Wimbledon Championships prove that grass can withstand two weeks of tennis. We have independent data that provides ample evidence that the men’s week will not suffer in any way, shape or form .
“We have had numerous discussions with both tours on this matter. (The ATP) has given the green light for the tournament to take place in 2025 and we continue to have an ongoing dialogue with them regarding the success of the 2025 edition. tournament.
The 2025 season will mark the second full year of the WTA’s revised calendar structure, which was introduced to better showcase the best athletes competing in the biggest events and support long-term sustainable growth.
“They would like to think about what happens after 2025, but we remain in very close dialogue with them on this and remain very confident that this will be a permanent change.”
Disparities in prize levels between circuits mean the men will earn more money at their tournament, while Pollard stressed the LTA was committed to both events being shown on free-to-air television.
Meanwhile, the second-tier event at Surbiton which kicked off the grass-court season will be scrapped next year, but Ilkley will continue to host a men’s and women’s tournament.
