Tennis Australia, Channel Seven in talks for Sydney Fast 4 tournament

Tennis Australia is in discussions with Channel Seven and Nine to stage a week-long Fast 4 tournament in Sydney to lure the likes of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to the harbour city on a regular basis.

Fairfax Media can reveal plans are already in place at tennis headquarters in Melbourne to transform the Fast 4 concept into a team-based tournament that would be similar to the Hopman Cup and likely be held in Sydney in October or November every second year potentially as early as 2017.

With the Sydney International falling behind most of the pre-Australian Open tournaments in the country, Tennis Australia and Tennis NSW believe the shortened format of the sport could reinvigorate interest in Sydney, especially in the weeks leading up to Christmas when cricket dominates television ratings.

The introduction of the International Tennis Premier League in Asia and the Middle East in 2014, as well as the interest in the Hopman Cup this year, has proven how successful team-based tournaments are in both attracting viewers as well as luring the top players in the world to play.

The Sydney International has been lacking star power for years, while the outdated facilities make it hard to compete with tournaments like the Brisbane International and Hopman Cup when it comes to attracting the big names.

A crowd of 12,000 turned up at the Sydney Entertainment Centre last year to watch Federer and Hewitt trial the Fast 4 version of the sport, with television audience peaking at over a million for Channel Nine’s coverage, which was broadcast to more than 150 countries around the world.