Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova are all in talks to play at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow in October, the president of the Russian Tennis Federation said Wednesday.
Last year’s edition of the $1.5 million tournament boasted no top 10-ranked male players, with the main attraction being leading women’s players Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanka, both ranked in the top 10.
“The current tournament will be impressive. We’re holding talks with Nadal, Federer and Maria Sharapova,” said Shamil Tarpishchev, who also captains Russia’s Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams.
The tournament’s success was vital to Russian tennis, he added.
“If we didn’t have the Kremlin Cup, there wouldn’t be tennis in Russia.”
There are also plans underway to upgrade the tournament from its current status as an ATP World Tour 250 and WTA Premier competition, perhaps by taking the May slot currently held by the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf, he said.
“Currently, the situation with the tournament in Dusseldorf is unclear. If it goes bankrupt, then we could take its place,” he said.
“We hold good contacts in the International Tennis Federation, which could help us to receive a higher status.”
An upgrade would require higher sponsorship revenue and financial help from the Russian government, he added.
The Kremlin Cup started as a men’s event in 1990, and added a women’s competition in 1996.
Last year’s edition of the tournament was held on a hard surface at Moscow’s Olimpiisky arena, with the men’s event won by Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic and the women’s by Slovakia’s Domenika Cibulkova.
