All About The ATP Cup -Team Competition Explained

ATP team competition returns to the ATP calendar for the first time since 2012.  From 1978 to 2012, ATP World Team Cup was held in Dusseldorf.  As a result of  the ATP Cup, the popular Hopman Cup is off the calendar for good. Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic of Switzerland were champions at the Hopman Cup in 2019.

The ATP Cup is an international outdoor hard court men’s tennis tournament between 24 competing nations.  The first edition of the event will be in January 2020. The tournament will be played across three Australian cities  – Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, over ten days in the lead up to the Australian Open and will feature teams from 24 countries.

The finals of the competition will take place in Sydney between 2020 and 2022.

How are the 24 countries chosen?

For a country to be eligible, a minimum of three ATP ranked players, including two members with singles ATP Ranking points, are required. A country may have up to five players. If a team has five players, at least three must have an ATP singles ranking. If less than five players, a team must have at least two players with an ATP Singles ranking.

What is the format?

Each tie will comprise two singles and one doubles match. The country winning two matches wins the tie. Every country will be guaranteed to play three ties in the group stages. Singles will be best-of-three tie-break sets. Doubles will feature No-Ad scoring and a Match Tie-break instead of a third set.

How is the winner decided?

The 24 teams are divided into six groups of four for the group stage, round-robin play. The six winners of each group and the two best second-placed finishers across the groups emerge to contest the eight-country knockout stage.