Tim Henman is on the verge of making a return to the ATP Tour for the first time since 2007, but in a different role.
Multiple newspaper sources have reported that the 45-year-old is the top pick to lead the British team for the brand new ATP Cup, which will get underway in Australia at the start of next year. Under the rules of the competition, captains are picked by the country’s top ranked player in consultation with their fellow players. In Britain’s case, Andy Murray has that decision based on the protected ranking he used to enter the event.
Murray has named the former world No.4 as his preference for captain, according to British tennis sources. Henman won 11 titles on the tour during his professional career and reached the semi-finals of six grand slam tournaments. Four of which were in his home country at Wimbledon. He also finished in the year-end top 10 five times throughout his career.
Henman remains a notable figure in the world of British tennis. For over a decade, he has been a member of the prestigious All England Club Committee, which oversees the running of Wimbledon. In April 2018 he was also one of a series of figures named on the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) Performance Advisory Group.
It is expected that a formal announcement concerning the captaincy will be made next week at some point. Coinciding with the ATP Finals taking place in London. Britain has been drawn in Group C along with Belgium, however, their two other opponents are yet to be confirmed. Switzerland was originally in the group before they were removed from the competition due to the withdrawal of Roger Federer. Eligible teams are based on the rank of their highest player.
Unlike other men’s team tournaments, the ATP Cup with have both prize money and ranking points available. A prize pool of $15,000,000 has been set aside for the event, which will be held across three cities in Australia. Furthermore, an undefeated singles champion has the chance to win 750 ranking points. The fourth highest amount of points available on the men’s tour after grand slams (2000), ATP Finals (1100-1500) and Masters 1000 events (1000).
A total of 24 teams will be taking part in the event, which will be held between January 3-12.
