Maybe put Newport the week before Queen's too? Maybe not, but hopefully Queen's and Halle will get upgraded to 500 status, both deserve it with their fields!

Announcement of further changes in the grasscourt season from 2015 on the ATP website today.
www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/02/7/ATP-World-Tour-2015-Calendar.aspx

Nottingham becomes an ATP250 with a 48 draw to replace the Eastbourne ATP250 (28draw).
That's good news in one sense but I suspect that it means the end of the Nottingham Challenger event which will be a shame. I doubt they'd hold a Chally there in the 2nd week of RG (as they do now) and a major event a couple of weeks later.

The article doesn't state the order of the new events in the 3-week time period.

I hope the LTA/ATP plot in a replacement Challenger.  Maybe they'd resurrect Surbiton? or Manchester?

From the ATP article:
The extended grass-court swing will be comprised of events in Stuttgart, s-Hertogenbosch, London-Queens, Halle, and a new 48-draw event in Nottingham (previously held as a 28-draw in Eastbourne). Newport will continue to be held the week after Wimbledon. In addition, Queens and Halle will be re-categorised as ATP World Tour 500 events, bringing the grass-court season additional weight in the 52-week Emirates ATP Rankings with a 75 percent increase in points attributed to the surface.

-- Edited by daisy on Monday 10th of February 2014 06:06:34 PM

TMH wrote:

---

What happened to Eastbourne?

---

 Presumably returns to being a women only tournament

I've always thought it would be great to see the extra week on grass before Wimbledon to give the almost extict serve volley players that bit more chance to shine (just notice how Mahut has a top 50 ranking almost entirely based on his winning a couple of the ATP 250 tournaments last summer: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Ma/N/Nicolas-Mahut.aspx?t=rb).

Having just watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3SmrwGg1gE I'm wondering whether anyone has ever heard much talk of moving back to faster balls/courts to promote serve volley tennis that bit more? Maybe the recent success of the Federer lining up with Edburg might help encourage this idea.

Believe it or not, I'm totally in agreement with Ratty on that! I have watched tennis for nearly 60 years, and almost stopped in the Sampras era.

So, France is about to open its first mega grass court tennis complex.

14 high-level grass courts at Deauville in Normandy.

It's been dubbed the 'Wimbledon Normand'

The aim is so that the 3 million members of the public players in France can get to experience grass, they say.

(And so that their players can get in a good bit of grass court practice????)

They'll be hosting a big exhibition tournament this year, I think.

And maybe pro ones later?

france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/basse-normandie/calvados/pays-d-auge/deauville/le-wimbledon-normand-va-bientot-ouvrir-ses-portes-979380.html