Sport
Order of play for Champions Tennis 20th anniversary confirmed
IMG have announced the order of play for the forthcoming 20th anniversary edition of Champions Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall.
Each night and day session, running from 30 November –4 December, will feature both competitive singles and entertaining doubles matches.
Welcoming Grand Slam Champions, World No.1s and national icons, Champions Tennis brings together some of the biggest names in the sport. The ATP Champions Tour will see two groups of round-robin matches, with the top player in each meeting for an exciting final on 4 December.
Four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman will join the likes of former top 20 player Xavier Malisse and double US Open Champion Pat Rafter in Group A. Group B welcomes former World No.1 Juan Carlos Ferrero as well as former British No.1 Greg Rusedski and ATP record holder Fabrice Santoro.
To mark its 20th anniversary, Champions Tennis will host a repeat of the inaugural Champions Tennis ATP Champions Tour final between seven-time Grand Slam Champion John McEnroe and former Roland Garros finalist Henri Leconte.
The exhibition doubles matches will consist of a combination of all players, including the court jester and crowd favourite Mansour Bahrami teaming up with McEnroe.
Champions Tennis have teamed up SportsAid for the anniversary edition, a charity which supports aspiring British athletes. On 2 December the tournament hosts a charity session, including a ‘Fast4’ event with teams captained by former GB Olympians Mark Foster and Denise Lewis. The session will also welcome English soprano Laura Wright, as well as a parade of Olympians and Paralympians, including participants in this year’s Olympic Games in Rio.
Starting at 11:30 on 2 December, Champions Tennis is also pleased to announce a designated Kids Day, including exclusive coaching from Champions Tennis legends such as Pat Rafter and Judy Murray’s Miss- Hits programme. Children will also be able to visit the magical world of George and the Ice Cream Castle, including games, puzzles, giveaways and much more.
The full order of play* is listed below:
ATP Champions Tour Singles
Group A Henman, Malisse, Rafter
Group B Ferrero, Rusedski, Santoro
Wednesday 30 November
At 1.30pm
Ferrero v Rusedski
El Aynaoui/Santoro v Leconte/Pernfors
At 7.30pm
Henman v Malisse
Bahrami/Forget v El Aynaoui/Pernfors
Thursday 1 December
At 1.30pm
Malisse v Rafter
Bahrami/Forget v Santoro/Pernfors
At 7.30pm
Leconte v McEnroe
Ferrero/Santoro v Henman/Malisse
Friday 2 December
At 1.30pm SportsAid Session
Henman v Rusedski
Leconte v McEnroe
Malisse v Rafter
Leconte/El Aynaoui v McEnroe/Bahrami
Henman/Rafter v Malisse/Rusedski
At 7.30pm
Ferrero v Santoro
Bahrami/El Aynaoui v Forget/Pernfors
Saturday 3 December
At 1.00pm
Rusedski v Santoro
Bahrami/McEnroe v El Aynaoui/Pernfors
At 6.00pm
Henman v Rafter
Ferrero/Leconte v Forget/Malisse
Sunday 4 December
At 11.30am
ATP Champions Tour Final
Bahrami/TBC v Pernfors/TBC
At 4.00 pm
Forget v McEnroe
Leconte/TBC v El Aynaoui/TBC
*All timings may be subject to change and are dependent on the length of play. The Management reserves the right to alter the Order of Play at any time.
Tickets for Champions Tennis are available now. Get yours via Ticketmaster.co.uk.
