FILE PHOTO: Britain Golf – GolfSixes – Centurion Club, St Albans – 5/5/17 General view of the Shot clock during the pro-am Action Images via Reuters / Andrew Boyers Livepic
LONDON (Reuters) – Shot Clock will be used at every ATP Tour event in 2020, the men’s tennis organization confirmed on Wednesday.
The 25-second countdown, designed to speed up play, was first used at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan in 2017 and was adopted at the last two Grand Slams, last year’s U.S. Open and this year’s Australian Open.
The ATP announced the decision while rolling out its calendar for 2020 — a year that will start with the inaugural ATP Cup, a team event that will launch the season.
Three Australian cities — Sydney, Brisbane, and one additional city yet to be announced — will host the 10-day event held in conjunction with Tennis Australia and featuring ranking points and $15 million in prize money.
To accommodate the new event, the ATP 250 tournament in Pune, India will be moved to after the Australian Open.
Adelaide will host an ATP tournament starting on Jan. 13 — the first time it has hosted one since 2008.
The ATP said there would also be an open application process for a 250 grasscourt event in Europe to take place the week before Wimbledon, currently held in Antalya, Turkey.
Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis