ITF

This year, Hopman Cup moved to a new venue in Perth, and Tennis Australia took over the management of the tournament on behalf of the ITF for 2013 and 2014. The 2013 Hopman Cup was one of the first events to be staged in the newly-built Perth Arena, an outdoor venue with a retractable roof and greater capacity than its former home indoors at the Burswood Dome. Spain was the first winner in Hopman Cup's new era, with Fernando Verdasco and Anabel Medina Garrigues pulling off an impressive upset of the top-seeded Serbs Ana Ivanovic and world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the final. The contest came down to the mixed doubles, as Medina Garrigues hit back to beat Ivanovic 64 67(3) 62 following Verdasco's opening-match loss to Djokovic 63 75. The Spanish duo won the doubles 64 75 to hand their country its fourth Hopman Cup title. It was Medina Garrigues who made the difference in a week in which she shone in singles, despite nearly withdrawing ahead of the event due to a back problem. Close friends Djokovic and Ivanovic were disappointed to lose but pledged to return to renew their bid to win a first Hopman Cup for Serbia. The event did provide good preparation for Djokovic in his Australian Open title defence as he went on to win his third successive crown in Melbourne three weeks later. Attendance at the event broke the previous record of 82,000 by some distance, with 104,468 fans taking advantage of the larger venue. A new session record was set when 13,500 fans watched Australia, represented by Bernard Tomic and Ashleigh Barty, take on Serbia. Spain did well to emerge from a round- robin group that also included France – represented by world No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga alongside Mathilde Johansson – South Africa and the United States, which looked a serious challenger for the title until Venus Williams's partner John Isner became injured. Serbia was joined in its group by Italy, Germany and Australia. Global television coverage of Hopman Cup again increased significantly in 2013, with 2,022 hours of action being shown by a record 17 broadcasters in over 180 countries. Network Ten continued its relationship with the event as domestic broadcaster and achieved great coverage of all sessions on Channel 10 and One HD. Title sponsor Hyundai celebrated its 25th year of involvement with the event, and was joined by key sponsor Eventscorp WA, and major sponsors Amcom Telecom, Edith Cowan University and NAB. The ITF Beach Tennis Tour continued to grow in 2013. There were 167 tournaments, an increase of 10 per cent from the 152 events in 2012, hosted by 28 nations and prize money also increased by $14,860 to $424,000. The reduction in the rate of growth in 2013 came predominantly in the first quarter which fell from 31 events in 2012 to 23. The overall number of Grade 1 events has increased from 13 to 18 which is a good indicator of the strength of the Tour. The World Team Championship returned to Russia's National Tennis Centre in Moscow for its second edition, with the number of nations increasing from 15 to 20. In the final Brazil defeated event favourites Italy to claim the title while Russia overcame France for third place. The year saw a new milestone for the sport in the Americas with the launch of the Pan American Championships in Brazil. This provided players in the region with the opportunity to compete at a regional level and to earn ranking points equivalent to those available at the European Championships. Four nations took part with Brazilian teams winning the men's, ladies' and mixed doubles events. Brazil continued to lead the way, holding 16 tournaments including three at Grade 1 level. USA reduced its total number of tournaments from 17 to 12, three of which were Grade 1 events. Across the Americas Argentina, Chile, Aruba and Bermuda all returned to the calendar. Asia welcomed a new host nation as Thailand not only staged a Grade 1 tournament but one which offered the year's highest prize money ($22,500). Japan continued as Asia's most active nation, holding nine tournaments, with the result that the region staged 10 tournaments in total, offering $42,000 in prize money. The European Championships were hosted by the British Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and held in Brighton for the first time. Twenty nations competed and Italian teams claimed all three titles despite the German ladies team coming close to causing a major upset in the final. The Beach Tennis World Championships returned to Italy where it was held in Cervia on 31 July - 4 August. A total of 21 nations were represented and Italian teams won all three events (including mixed doubles). The men's and ladies' finals were played in front of a packed stadium of over 2,000 people. ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti attended and presented the awards to the champions. Diversity in the rankings has improved due to increased international playing opportunities with Brazilian ladies and Italian men topping the year-end rankings. ITF BEACH TENNIS TOUR HYUNDAI HOPMAN CUP This year saw a new milestone for the sport in the Americas with the launch of the Pan American Championships in Brazil. A new session record was set when 13,500 fans watched Australia, represented by Bernard Tomic and Ashleigh Barty, take on Serbia. 2,022 Hours of TV coverage 167 Tour tournaments 14 PROFESSIONAL TENNIS: ITF BEACH TENNIS TOUR 15 PROFESSIONAL TENNIS: HYUNDAI HOPMAN CUP

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