Five new tour events announced for indoor season, Zverev signs up

The ATP Tour has announced four new 250 events and the WTA Tour one new Premier event for the indoor season.

The ATP events are two back-to-back indoor hardcourt competitions in Cologne, Germany, a clay event in Sardinia, Italy, and another indoor hardcourt event in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan before the ATP Finals.

The tournaments have been so far scheduled just for this season, with the ATP saying "strict health & safety, international travel, and ATP event requirements" had been part of the approvals.

"Our goal was to create additional earning opportunities for players and entertainment for our fans, and to do so in a safe and practical way," said ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi in a statement.

The regular ATP stops in Stockholm and Basel had previously been announced as cancelled for this season, while St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vienna and the Paris Masters events are still scheduled. There is also an ATP event in Sofia the week before the ATP Finals.

Alexander Zverev, Andy Murray and Gael Monfils have been announced as playing the Cologne events. "It is great that two ATP tournaments are being held in Cologne in this difficult season. Playing in Germany is always something very special," said a statement from Zverev.

The ATP also announced that it had renewed its sponsorship agreement with Nitto, the title sponsor of the ATP Finals.

The WTA event is scheduled for Ostrava, in the Czech Republic. The indoor hardcourt competition will have 28 players in the main draw and 24 in qualifying.

There are 12 other events currently scheduled for the season, according to the WTA. The WTA Tour's lineup has been decimated by the cancellation of more than half a dozen events in China, including the WTA Finals, along with a Premier 5 in Tokyo, Japan, and two other events. Some additional events are postponed or rescheduled.

All scheduled events are described as conditional and subject to changing government and safety regulations.