Manchester has joined current hosts London as a candidate in a five-city shortlist to host the ATP Finals from 2021 to 2025.
The season finale will remain at the O2 Arena in London up to 2020, with that deal open to be extended, while the ATP announced Singapore, Tokyo and Turin as the other shortlisted cities.
London has hosted the event since 2009, with the tournament enjoying an average of more than 250,000 fans attending every year but last month’s edition proved the least successful in terms of ticket sales.
“The level of interest we have received worldwide throughout the bid application process reflects the rich heritage of this unique tournament, as well as the success of the event at The O2 since 2009,” ATP executive chairman and president Chris Kermode said.
“It has been a highly competitive process, and the candidate cities on the shortlist deserve huge credit for the passion and creative vision they have shown in their respective plans to continue the growth of our showpiece event.”
Leading players are split on whether the tournament should remain at the O2, with Roger Federer describing the current home as a “winning formula” and Novak Djokovic calling on the event to travel more.
The regular season finishes with the Paris Masters so another European candidate may be favoured but the tournament is currently sponsored by Japanese brand Nitto, adding weight to Tokyo’s bid.
Singapore hosted the WTA Finals for the last time this year before it switches to China, with Manchester missing out to Shenzhen in the final bidding for hosting rights.
More than 40 cities expressed an interest and the winning candidate will not be announced before March 2019.
