£lOO,OOO tennis cup

Press, 25 February 1978, Page 56

£lOO,OOO tennis cup

A new professional tennis event, with nearly £lOO,OOO ($190,000) in prize money, will be staged in Dusseldorf, West Germany, from May 8 to 15, reports NZPA from London. It is the Nations Cup, a team event between the top eight tennis nations of the world. It is scheduled to be played for at least the next five years and will be sponsored. The competition is being organised by the Association of Tennis Profes-

sionals.' Several European venues were considered, including London, which Was rejected because of the number of big tournaments already played in Britain. Teams will be selected strictly on merit, according to the rankings on the association’s computer on March 6. First refusal will be given to the top two players from each chosen country. Seven countries will qualify through the computer and the host country will have the option of choosing the eighth.

On present rankings, the top seven nations would include the United States, Australia, Spain, Italy, and Britain. Matches will be over the best of three sets, with a format of two singles and a doubles. The winning team will receive $60,000. The smallest prize will be $12,000. The organisers say that the new event will not compete with the Davis Cup but it will certainly clash with the world championship tennis finals in Dallas, Texas.