Tennis is the game played by professional individuals, but sometimes the players come to gather and play as a team. Davis Cup and Fed Cup are some of those events in tennis in which the players play as a team. The Hopman Cup to is a team event in tennis, but it is played differently than both the Davis Cup and Fed Cup. How? Let us check this article.
In simpler words, the Hopman Cup is a team indoor hardcourt tennis tournament which is held in Perth, Western Australia every year. The scheduled time for Hopman Cup is early January but sometimes it is also played during the late weeks of December. The other name for the tournament is ITF World Mixed Team Championships.
History of the Hopman Cup
The Hopman Cup Championship is held in the name of Harry Hopman, who was the coach of the Australian David Cup team, which won 15 Davis Cup titles between 1938 and 1969. The tournament was started in 1989 after the death of Harry Hopman in 1985. Harry Hopman’s second wife Lucy attends the tournament every year and for that, she flies from her home in the USA. The tournament is recognized by the ITF (International Tennis Federation) but the performances by the players are not ranked by the ATP Tour Rankings. The winning team of the Hopman Cup receives a trophy and team members get individual trophies in the shape of tennis balls.
Format of the Hopman Cup
We are aware that Hopman Cup is also a team tournament like Davis Cup and Fed Cup, but the major difference between those two tournaments and Hopman Cup is that over here both men and ladies are grouped as a team. There are total 8 nations selected yearly to compete in the Hopman Cup and among this, the eight teams are selected via a play-off between many nations before the competition begins. Each team has one male and one female player. There are 3 matches in total.
- Women’s Singles Match – 1
- Men’s Singles Match – 1
- Mixed Doubles Match – 1
Four nations are then divided into two groups and two top-seeded teams are also separated in these two groups. All four teams play with each other once within their groups and the top two teams clash with each other in the finals.
Changes in Hopman Cup
After the resignation of Steve Ayles, Paul Kilderry is the new Tournament Director for the Hopman Cup. Till 2012 the tournament was used to play in the Burswood Dome at the Burswood Entertainment Complex in Perth, but since 2013 the venue for the Hopman Cup is the new Perth Arena. In the year 2005-06, the Hawkeye technology was also introduced in the tournament for the challenge of the decision by the players.
The telecast rights were kept on changing hands over the years for the Hopman Cup. Till 1994 the Seven Network was the broadcaster then for the next five years Australian Broadcasting Corporation got the rights. From 2011 the rights were with the Network Ten but the deal was ended prematurely and currently, the telecast rights for the Hopman Cup are with the 7mate.