AO Arena in Manchester to host 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stages
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AO Arena in Manchester will be the new host of the Group Stages of the Davis Cup Finals later this year.
The event, widely regarded as the men’s ‘World Cup of Tennis’, will give fans the chance to see some of the world’s best players in action, with Britain to take on three other nations from 12-17 September 2023.
Last year Britain was chosen as one of four nations to host the Group Stages of the Finals. Each nation will play three times over the six-day competition. The top two nations from each of the four groups will advance to a quarter-final ‘Final 8’ knock-out competition held in Malaga between 21-26 November.
The multi-year agreement between the LTA and the International Tennis Federation to host a Group Stage in Britain is on the basis that Britain qualifies or receives a wild card for the finals in each of those years. This forms part of our strategy to further open up tennis to more audiences by taking events to different parts of the country.
Leon Smith’s Great Britain team secured their place in the Group Stages having defeated Colombia 3-1 away last month.
Manchester is the fifth different city to host the Davis Cup in Britain over the last 10 years, joining Coventry, Glasgow, London and Birmingham.
Details on when tickets will go on sale for Manchester will be released in due course.
Davis Cup Finals draw
The draw for the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals will takes place in in Malaga Wednesday 29 March at 16:00 local time (15:00 in Britain) and will be streamed live on the ITF YouTube channel. The venues for the three other Davis Cup Finals Group Stages will be confirmed at the draw.
LTA Director of Major Events and Digital, Chris Pollard said: “We are thrilled to be hosting the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage again in September as we know how much this competition means to our team and fans. It’s particularly important to us to take these major events around the whole of Britain and we look forward to working with our partners at Marketing Manchester and Manchester City Council to maximise this opportunity, therefore opening up our sport to more people and helping change perceptions of tennis across the country.”
Sheona Southern, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester, said: "We are thrilled with the announcement that Manchester has been selected to host the group stage of the Davis Cup later this year. With our strong history in supporting tennis over the years, we are confident in delivering an exceptional experience for tennis fans in Greater Manchester and hosting some of the best names in the game. 2023 is shaping up to be a spectacular year of sporting events in Greater Manchester, with the World Para Swimming Championships in August, the Tour of Britain Cycling Grand Depart in September, and the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in December, we look forward to celebrating our success and welcoming the world."
Manchester City Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said: “This is a major coup for Manchester which further underlines our credentials as a great sporting city. We look forward to giving top class tennis players and fans of different nations a warm Mancunian welcome. I’m sure that hosting the Group Stages of the Davis Cup will not just be exciting for tennis fans, and a boost for the city’s economy but also provide a legacy of inspiration which will encourage even more people to get out there, use our city’s high quality tennis facilities and maybe even become the Davis Cup stars of the future themselves."
