The Kazakhstan Tennis Federation announced that Nur-Sultan will host the ATP Tour 500 for the first time on October 1-9, 2022, Qazmonitor reports via KTF. ATP has confirmed its decision to relocate the China Open from Beijing, following the ongoing restrictions related to COVID-19.
On Thursday, the ATP Tour updated its end-of-year calendar, with six tournaments added to replace the Covid-enforced cancellation of the 2022 China swing for the third year in a row. The men's tour upgraded two existing ATP 250 events in Nur-Sultan and Tokyo to level 500.
The added six events are all ATP 250 tournaments that will take place in San Diego, Seoul, Tel Aviv, Florence, Gijon and Naples between September 19 and October 23.
The ATP 500, which is the third-highest tier of men’s tennis, after the Grand Slams and the ATP Masters 1000, will take place at the National Tennis Centre in Nur-Sultan, which has 24 all-weather courts in a park setting with picturesque views of the Yesil River.
The Tour’s high-profile status means that the Astana Open can expect a strong roster of participants, including some of the world’s top ten players. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, who is the world No.1, has already announced that he will play at the Astana Open.
In 2020, Kazakhstan was given a one-year licence to expand playing opportunities and explore new avenues for professional tennis. The country hosted two ATP 250 tournaments, in 2020 and 2021.
Bulat Utemuratov, the president of KTF, noted that this year has been an important chapter in Kazakh tennis history.
"Two years later, we earned the right to host an ATP 500 tournament. It’s noteworthy that this tournament is taking place in a milestone year for us: Elena Rybakina won her first Wimbledon championship and the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation is marking its 30th anniversary."
