The turmoil in Thailand, which resulted in the ousting of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra last week following months of protests, led the organisers of the IPTL to seek a new venue for the first leg of the new league, set to be held from November 28 to 30.

"We had to divert from the original franchise owner in Bangkok as the political unrest forced us to look for an alternative city to ensure the safety of all stakeholders," League founder Mahesh Bhupathi said in a statement.

"Bringing world class tennis to new audiences has always been one of the objectives of the IPTL and we are happy to announce Manila as the first host city of our tour across Asia.

"Manila quickly emerged as the perfect location to stage the event for the coming years as we have world class indoor venues available which can hold more than 20,000 spectators each and secondly, the city that has not seen professional tennis for the past 20 years."

The International Premier Tennis League will see former greats such as Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras return to the court ©Getty Images



As well as Manila, the newly created IPTL will be held across three other cities including Singapore from December 2 to 4, Mumbai from December 7to 9 and Dubai from December 11 to 14.

The best players in the world have committed to play in the league, including world number one Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Thomas Berdych, Wilfired Tsonga, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki.

The competition will also welcome former champions, including Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Patrick Rafter, Carlos Moya and Goran Ivanisevic.

The players are split into four teams with these teams set to compete against each other in one-set men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, mixed doubles and legends singles matches and the team that wins the most games wins the match tie.

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