Top
Champions Tennis 2021
Tennis News, Tennis Tournaments

Champions Tennis 2021 Preview: A final farewell to the Royal Albert Hall


The ATP Champions Tour has its season finale at the Royal Albert Hall with Champions Tennis 2021, its final year at the iconic London venue.

The year-ending event for the ATP Champions Tour returns to the Royal Albert Hall this November. The fan favourite show has seen Slam champions John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Pat Rafter, Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic.

British tennis icons Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman also consistently entertain at the London showpiece, with a newly risen national tennis star making their debut at the event this year too.

 

 

British teen sensation and US Open champion Emma Raducanu will make her Champions Tennis debut in the historic auditorium. The rising talent will play an exhibition hosted by Champions Tour veteran Mansour Bahrami at 12pm on Sunday 28th November.

What can fans expect?

The last Champions Tennis was held in 2019 after the 2020 event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The format that year saw three teams captained by Tim Henman, Goran Ivanisevic and Greg Rusedski.

Team Tim consisted of Henman, newly retired David Ferrer and two-time Slam finalist Mark Philippoussis. Ivanisevic was joined by 2004 Roland Garros doubles champion Xavier Malisse and former world number one and 2003 Roland Garros singles champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Finally, Team Rusedski boasted Rusedski, former world number two Tommy Haas and 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis. After the round robin stage, in which each team faced each other in two singles and a doubles, Team Henman were eliminated as Team Rusedski and Team Goran faced off in the final.

Team Greg came out on top in that final 3-1 to win the 2019 Champions Tennis trophy.

What do players say about it?

Tim Henman loves playing the season-ending Champions Tour event. “It’s such an iconic venue. I’ll never get bored of playing tennis here,” the former world number four has said.

“This is our Wimbledon, it’s an unbelievable spot,” seven-time Slam singles champion John McEnroe said of playing at Royal Albert Hall. “This is the cream of the crop,” states two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter.

“To be here and see it in person, it’s a special place,” former world number one Andy Roddick expressed.

Dates

The event runs from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th November. Each day will have an afternoon and an evening session, for which tickets are sold separately.

As in 2019, each day will have three matches per session; two competitive singles matches and one competitive doubles match. The final will take place on Sunday night following the Raducanu-Bahrami exhibition event.

 

Champions Tennis Goran Ivanisevic

 

Where is the event held?

The event is held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK on indoor hard courts. The venue first hosted Champions Tennis back in 1997, and has done so every year since.

Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the historic London venue has hosted countless arts and entertainment events. The Hall stages more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including a wide variety of concerts, ballet, opera and film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment. Sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets are also among the events hosted there.

 

 

Can I buy tickets for the tournament?

For information on purchasing tickets to this year’s event, click here.

How can I follow the tournament?

You can follow the tournament on the official Champions Tour website and the official ATP Champions Tour Twitter.

 

Champions Tennis Tim Henman Mark Philippoussis

 


By
1