HONG KONG, June 12 — International men’s tennis will return to Hong Kong in January for the first time in more than 20 years, the ATP Tour said today, and will act as build-up to the Australian Open.

The outdoor hard-court event will be held on December 31 to January 7 and replaces the tournament in Pune, India which took place this year around the same dates, the men’s ATP Tour said.

It will be the first ATP Tour event in Hong Kong since 2002 and previous players to have featured include Grand Slam champions Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and Michael Chang.

There will be total prize money of more than US$650,000 (RM2.9 million) and the tournament comes just before the 2024 Australian Open, which is scheduled to start on January 15.

Philip Mok, president of Hong Kong’s tennis association, said: "Our goal has been to bring an ATP Tour level event back to Hong Kong for several years and we are thrilled to make it a reality.”

Hong Kong will this October host a women’s WTA event for the first time since 2018.

International men’s and women’s tennis is returning to China after a prolonged absence because of the Covid-19 pandemic. — AFP