Queens and Halle to be 500-point tournaments from 2015

Just been announced that Queen's and Halle will be upgraded from 250-point tournaments to 500pt ones from 2015. This, of course, co-incides with the start of the extra week between the French and Wimbledon.
No dates for the tournaments yet. At present, of course, they get played immediately after the French. The complication is that Stuttgart, I believe, is going grass from 2015, with Wimbledon experts called in to help with the court preparation. The fact that Halle has now got 500-point status suggests that Stuttgart will be a 250 one.
Reckon Halle and Queen's will want to play in the middle of the three weeks available from 2015. Always thought it was daft that these two tourneys stayed at 250, as they always have attracted nearly all the top players.
It's certainly good news for Murray as it gives him a real chance of some serious grass-court points. Who knows, it might help persuade Fed to have another crack at Halle in 2015. He aint done badly there over the years.

Great news! The extra week between the French and Wimbledon plus this really does enhance the grass court season.

It's also good news for those players that never meet their ATP500 commitment. Some British wildcards will be pleased with the extra points and prize money too.

Good news, another step toward a 'proper' grass court season.

All we need now is a Masters on grass! Downgrade Monte Carlo or Cincy.

Good to hear, Halle and Queen finally get recognized. Den Bosch and Stuttgart are the 250s then. Nice to have a 4 pre-Wimbledon tourneys.

Can we have WTF on Grass too?

Yes please, the grass from 1992-1999

High time.

I actually would say Halle to be made Masters 1000, if not both

Tennis throughout the year used to be played on the grass, but with the popularity of clay and hard courts, it has withered away to a rump.  They (yes they) had to relabel the original tennis to "lawn tennis" in recognition of the change.  It's good to see that new seeds are being laid to give lawn tennis more recognition.

Fantastic news!

This is a decent decision, Queens especially I have always thought was low as a 250.

The calendar change may attract a few extra players to these events, as will the rankings increase.

Interesting to see how the new scheduling will work out. Will, for example, Halle and Queen's be played in what will now become the middle week between the French and Wimbledon?
Seems only right we get more grass court tournaments. Good knows how many extra titles some players would have won if more matches were on grass as they were in the past.