The 2024 MGM Macau Tennis Masters is set to take place from December 24 to 25 at Macau Forum in Zape, with the tournament being Asia’s first mixed-gender team format tournament.
The upcoming event, which had its inaugural edition last year, is organised by integrated resort (IR) operator MGM and global sports, events and representation company IMG.
According to a press conference held yesterday at MGM MACAU, there will be a lineup of six top players divided into two groups. They will be captained by either former Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) world ranking No. 2 and two-time Grand Slam singles champion Li Na from the mainland, who attended yesterday’s press conference, or Chinese-American former professional tennis player and coach Michael Chang Te-pei, the youngest man in history to win a singles major at 17 years old in 1989.
Both Chang and Li are in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
The players comprise Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) players Casper Ruud from Norway; Lorenzo Musetti from Italy; Jerry Shang Juncheng from the mainland; Russia’s Andrey Rublev; and WTA players Wang Xinyu from the mainland, and Czechia’s Karolina Muchova.
Speaking with the Post after yesterday’s press conference, Tournament Director and IMG Senior Vice President of Tennis Events Luiz Carvalho said that the two teams will be made up of three players each, with two males and one female, he noted.
There will be four matches per day, with the first match of each session being a team captain challenge, followed by two singles and one doubles match, according to Carvalho.
Carvalho said that they are hoping for an exciting run. “The players love Macau…They also come here looking to prepare for the Australian Open, to get match-ready and get some rhythm ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season”, he added.
On his expectations, Carvalho remarked: “I expect them to play hard to win, they’re tennis players and they hate to lose that’s one of the characteristics they all have in common. At the same time, I think it’s going to be a fun and relaxed environment”.
He also noted that the event is overall set to provide people with an opportunity to watch tennis players in action and there is “nothing better than Macau to be the setup for that”.
Meanwhile, President and Executive Director of MGM China Holdings Limited Kenneth Feng Xiaofeng said in his speech that: “The event continues to bring forth the synergy between sports and tourism to create an exclusive sports event brand for Macau, further elevating its transformation into a ‘City of Sports’ and a destination for world-class elite sports events”.
Tickets are currently on sale at www.MGM.mo and www.Damai.cn, with more information on www.MGMMacauTennis.com.
Former professional tennis player Li Na (from left to right); Macau Tennis Association Chairman Ma Iao Iao; MGM China Holdings Limited President and Executive Director Kenneth Feng Xiaofeng; Sports Bureau (ID) President Luís Gomes; Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Tourism Product and Events Department Chief Jennifer Si Tou; and Tournament Director and IMG Senior Vice President of Tennis Events Luiz Carvalho pose after yesterday’s press conference. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
