International men's tennis will return to Hong Kong in January for the first time in more than 20 years, the ATP Tour said on Monday, and will act as build-up to the Australian Open.
The outdoor hard-court event will be held on 31 December to 7 January and replaces the tournament in Pune, India, which took place this year around the same dates, the men's ATP Tour said.
It will be the first ATP Tour event in Hong Kong since 2002 and previous players to have featured include Grand Slam champions Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and Michael Chang.
There will be total prize money of more than $650 000 and the tournament comes just before the 2024 Australian Open, which is scheduled to start on 15 January.
Philip Mok, president of Hong Kong's tennis association, said: "Our goal has been to bring an ATP Tour level event back to Hong Kong for several years and we are thrilled to make it a reality."
Hong Kong will this October host a women's WTA event for the first time since 2018.
International men's and women's tennis is returning to China after a prolonged absence because of the Covid-19 pandemic.