Manchester has been unveiled as one of the host cities for the group stages of this year's Davis Cup finals - marking the first time the city-region has hosted the event in almost 30 years.
Widely regarded as the men’s ‘World Cup of Tennis’, the Davis Cup sees national teams from around the world compete to be named as World Champions of the sport.
Manchester has been named as one of the four host cities of this year’s group stage finals, with the AO Arena hosting the tournament on September 12-17. It will mark the first time Manchester has hosted the Davis Cup since 1994.
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Each nation will play three times over the six-day tennis competition with the top two nations from each of the four groups advancing to a quarterfinal ‘Final 8’ knock-out competition held in Malaga between November 21-26.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will draw the countries taking part in this year’s tournament, whilst also unveiling the three other cities to host group stage finals, in Malaga on Wednesday (March 29).
Manchester is now the fifth city in the UK to host the Davis Cup in the last ten years, joining Coventry, Glasgow, London and Birmingham. Led by captain Leon Smith, Great Britain secured their place in the Group Stages having defeated Colombia 3-1 away last month.
Manchester City Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said: “This is a major coup for Manchester which further underlines our credentials as a great sporting city. We look forward to giving top class tennis players and fans of different nations a warm Mancunian welcome.
“I’m sure that hosting the Group Stages of the Davis Cup will not just be exciting for tennis fans, and a boost for the city’s economy but also provide a legacy of inspiration which will encourage even more people to get out there, use our city’s high quality tennis facilities and maybe even become the Davis Cup stars of the future themselves.”
LTA said choosing Manchester as a host city for one of the Finals group stages was part of its strategic vision to further open up tennis to more audiences by taking events to different parts of the UK.
Chris Pollard, Director of Major Events and Digital, at LTA, said: “We are thrilled to be hosting the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage again in September as we know how much this competition means to our team and fans.
“It’s particularly important to us to take these major events around the whole of Britain and we look forward to working with our partners at Marketing Manchester and Manchester City Council to maximise this opportunity, therefore opening up our sport to more people and helping change perceptions of tennis across the country.”
Sheona Southern, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester, said: “We are thrilled with the announcement that Manchester has been selected to host the group stage of the Davis Cup later this year. With our strong history in supporting tennis over the years, we are confident in delivering an exceptional experience for tennis fans in Greater Manchester and hosting some of the best names in the game.
“2023 is shaping up to be a spectacular year of sporting events in Greater Manchester, with the World Para Swimming Championships in August, the Tour of Britain Cycling Grand Depart in September, and the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in December, we look forward to celebrating our success and welcoming the world.”
In 2015, Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years, reaching two more semifinals and two quarterfinals since then.
The draw for the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals will takes place on Wednesday at 4pm local time (3pm in Britain) and will be streamed live on the Davis Cup YouTube channel.
An announcement of when tickets will go on sale for Manchester will be released soon.
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