Tournament manager Alec Anderson has given the annual ATP event a clean bill of health in the wake of this year's tournament, which wrapped up on Sunday at Coral Beach.

"I gave no reason to feel (the tournament) won't (be back),'' Anderson said.

"There have been positive signs out of (main sponsor) XL and I haven't heard anything negative from our other sponsors.'' Financial details were not available but Anderson said the Bermuda Tennis Foundation, which owns the event, will likely turn a small profit. If so, this would mark the second straight year it will come out in the black -- a major turnaround from the first four years of the tournament.

"We're still in pretty good shape,'' he said. "I expect this year we'll do okay financially.'' Much of that has to do with a drop in prize money handed out, reduced by more than half last year (to $125,000) and reduced again -- to $100,000 -- this year.

Andrson said this year's drop "hasn't made a difference in terms of quality or stature of our field,'' pointing to men's singles winner Hernan Gumy, "a top 40 player'' whose ranking dropped him to 108 because of injuries.

And despite the sight of numerous empty seats throughout the tournamnet -- including Sunday's finals -- Anderson said overall crowds were "much bigger'' than last year.

This was despite untimely circumstances such as poor weather, Easter weekend and competition from the Masters golf championships on television. A packed ATP schedule makes open dates a hot commodity but Anderson said organisers will try to hold the tournament a week later next year.