This new event is scheduled to be held in June 2028, competing in Northern Italy to help tennis players warm up for Wimbledon - a famous grass-court Grand Slam tournament, held in England.
President of the Italian Tennis Federation and Padel Italy Angelo Binaghi said they have bought the right to host an ATP 250 level tournament in Brussels, a tournament currently taking place in October.
There is still time to decide the venue. Due to climate reasons, perhaps the tournament will be held in northern Italy," Binaghi said.
Mr. Binaghi also did not rule out organizing this tournament at San Siro, a stadium that is serving football and is the home stadium of two famous clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan.
The participation of football stadiums in the tennis event is nothing new. Next week, Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium will host practice matches for the Masters 1,000 tournament in Madrid.
However, whether Italy's new ATP tournament will take place at San Siro stadium or not is still uncertain. At the end of 2025, the Milan City Council allowed AC Milan and Inter Milan to buy back this stadium and have full decision-making power. Both teams are expected to build a new stadium with a capacity of 71,000 seats and complete it by 2030.
The timing of the tournament is also a problem to consider, as the schedule in the grass court season is relatively short. Currently, Queen's and Halle are the venues for ATP 500 tournaments, while Stuttgart, s-Hertogenbosch, Mallorca and Eastbourne are currently hosting ATP 250 tournaments before the annual Wimbledon tournament takes place.
In recent years, the Italian Tennis Federation and Padel Italy have hosted many major events to increase the popularity of this sport, as well as take advantage of the popularity of Jannik Sinner - the world's number one male tennis player.
The city of Turin will host the ATP Finals at the end of the season until 2030 and Bologna will be the venue for the Davis Cup finals until next year.
Rome is also the venue for the traditional Masters tournament on clay courts in May every year, the last 1000 level tournament before Roland Garros.
