Tennis grass

Tennis grass-court season extended to give longer lead-up to Wimbledon

By Zjan Shirinian

February 10 - The grass-court season will be extended next year to give tennis players a better lead-up to the Wimbledon Championships.

For the first time, there will be three weeks between the end of the French Open in Paris and Wimbledon in London, instead of the usual two weeks.

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has made the announcement as part of its unveiling of the 2015 World Tour calendar.

It will feature 62 tournaments in 31 countries across six continents.

The extended grass-court season will be made up of events in Stuttgart-Hertogenbosch, Germany; London-Queen's and Halle, also in Germany.

There will also be a new 48-draw event in Nottingham in Britain (previously held as a 28-draw event in Eastbourne).

Newport will continue to be held the week after Wimbledon.

Queen's and Halle will be re-categorised as ATP World Tour 500 events, bringing the grass-court season extra weight in the ATP Rankings with a 75 percent increase in points given to the surface.

'The extended grass-court season, with additional Emirates ATP Rankings points at stake, is a positive step forward,' said ATP President Chris Kermode.

'One of our assets as a sport is to provide for variance across playing surfaces throughout the season, so the strengthening of the grass-court season is a significant enhancement for the overall calendar.

'In particular, I would like to thank the All England Club, led by Philip Brook, for the instrumental role it has played in achieving this positive outcome.'

Next year's French Open begins on May 25, with Wimbledon starting on June 29.

To see the full calendar for 2015, click here and download the PDF.