British No 3 Cameron Norrie to play in NZ Premier League as tennis returns to southern hemisphere
New Zealand will host the southern hemisphere’s first professional tournament following the sport’s enforced break with 24 players, including Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie, set to take part.
Tennis has been on a hiatus since the start of March and, if things go according to plan, then the ATP and WTA Tours will resume on August 1.
However, a few closed-door exhibition and invitational tournaments have been played in the northern hemisphere with several more scheduled for June and July.
Novak Djokovic launches Adria Tour that will feature Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov
New Zealand will also get in on the act after the country’s tennis federation launched the team-based NZ Premier League for men’s players.
The tournament will get underway on June 3 with matches played in Auckland without any fans and Sky Sports as well the YouTube channel, Sky Sport Next, will broadcast all 112 matches live.
“Training without a goal is not possible for professional and competitive athletes,” Tennis New Zealand High Performance Director Christophe Lambert said in a statement.
“The NZ Premier League offers opportunities for our best players to have a home base competitive environment so they are ready to jump back in when the pro circuit starts again, but also for our younger players to get the experience needed to perform at the highest level.”
The event will feature mostly New Zealand-based players with world No 77 Norrie likely to be highest-ranked player in the tournament while Japan’s Ben McLachlan another foreign entrant.
The 24 players will be split into eight teams of three and they will compete in round-robin matches and the finals.
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @T365Official.
Latest
-
Tennis News
Gael Monfils makes brutal Carlos Alcaraz admission as he describes facing the Spaniard
“I feel like I’m getting eaten up, but at the same time, I feel like I’m playing well.”
-
Tennis News
Coco Gauff makes Novak Djokovic confession and reveals she modelled key shot after the Serb
“I tried to model it after Novak Djokovic a lot. That’s where that inspiration comes from.”
-
ATP Tour
Lorenzo Musetti told what he needs to do to beat ‘inspirational’ Carlos Alcaraz
“Alcaraz can play through you, he can play around you, he can bring you in so I just don’t know where Musetti goes.”
-
Tennis News
‘Federer, Nadal, Djokovic era will never happen again’ – former star makes ‘brutal change’ claim
“The sooner we accept it, the better. And the sooner the comparisons stop, well, [the] better.”
-
Tennis Features
The 9 oldest No 1s in men’s tennis: Novak Djokovic days away from breaking Roger Federer’s record
The countdown to Novak Djokovic becoming the oldest world No 1 is on.
-
WTA Tour
Iga Swiatek stunned in Miami as Ekaterina Alexandrova achieves rare feat against the world No 1
Ekaterina Alexandrova didn’t drop serve en route to victory over Iga Swiatek.
-
ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz makes star-struck confession as he ‘puts on a show’ for sporting greats
Juan Martin del Potro, Neymar and Jimmy Butler watched Carlos Alcaraz’s latest Miami Open match.
-
WTA Tour
Coco Gauff reveals how she deals with defeats as Miami Open dream dies
Coco Gauff struggled to find her best form as she crashed out of the Miami Open.
-
Tennis News
Why Andy Murray’s ‘serious’ ankle injury may not end hopes of Wimbledon farewell
Andy Murray confirms injury nightmare in Instagram post – but this may not end his career.
-
WTA Tour
Elena Rybakina reveals she is ‘still in pain’ as Katie Boulter misses big rankings chance
Elena Rybakina offered up a candid interview as she admitted the problem that forced her out of Indian Wells is still a concern.