Turkey to host ATP grasscourt tournament in 2017

LONDON (Reuters) - Another grasscourt tournament will be added to the calendar next year after the ATP announced on Monday that a World Tour 250 event would be staged in Antalya, Turkey in June.

The tournament will take place from June 25-July 1 and give players another event at which to prepare for Wimbledon.

Next month the WTA will hold a brand new grasscourt event in Mallorca.

"The addition of Antalya in the ATP World Tour calendar from 2017 represents the latest enhancement to the grass court swing following the introduction of the three-week gap between Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year," ATP chief Chris Kermode said.

"We look forward to expanding our presence in an important market such as Turkey where the demand for world class tennis continues to grow, while at the same time giving our players additional grass-court playing opportunities ahead of Wimbledon."

The tournament, one of seven grasscourt tournaments on the ATP Tour next year, will be staged at the Kaya Palazzo Belek resort where seven grasscourts will be laid.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)