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Sport's return in New Zealand continues with live tennis action

Armchair tennis fans who have been starved of live action with the sport in shutdown since March,...



Sport's return in New Zealand...
Other Sports

Sport's return in New Zealand continues with live tennis action

Armchair tennis fans who have been starved of live action with the sport in shutdown since March, now have something to look forward to.

Details of the New Zealand Premier League, which will take place next month, were announced today.

Tennis New Zealand say that "several seasoned ATP tour pros" will be taking part in the tournament and will compete alongside the best up and coming talent in New Zealand.

The 112 match tournament gets underway on 3 June and will be played in Auckland, behind closed doors.

It is being broadcast by Sky Sports in New Zealand but viewers in the northern hemisphere should be able to watch all the action on the Sky Sport Next YouTube channel.

ATP world number 77 Cameron Norrie, who represents Great Britain but is based in New Zealand, and Ben McLachlan, who switched allegiance to Japan and played Davis Cup for them, are also set to take part in the event.

"It’s a great chance for the best players in NZ to play matches again, I’ve always enjoyed the teams format," said McLachlan.

"The talent pool here in NZ right now is as deep as we are ever likely to see, so this is the perfect time to launch what will be a great series.

"We’re looking to be really innovative and make things as fun as we can for players and those watching at home, and with so many great professional players here in New Zealand right now, the action on court is going to be outstanding."

The event will feature 24 players competing across three weeks of round robin and finals play.

A team format will be used, with players split into eight teams of three.

The top seeded players will be separated into different pools, ensuring even competition amongst teams.

The tennis calendar was obliterated by the coronavirus pandemic with Wimbledon cancelled and the French Open and US Open rescheduled.

The action was due to begin at Roland Garros today but that has been rescheduled for 20 September, after the US Open which has now been fixed to start on 31 August.

The sport returned at the weekend with the UTR Pro Match Series Tennis women's event in Florida but unfortunately it wasn't completed due to rain.

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French Open New Zealand Premier League Tennis New Zealand Wimbledon