WTA Adds New Chinese Event to Calendar
October 9, 2014
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have announced that they will stage another tournament in China next season with the launch of the WTA Elite Trophy.
The new event, which will take place in Zhuhai, effectively replaces the current Tournament of Champions for rising stars of the tour which this year will be held in Sofia at the end of the season.
The replacement will see the best players who don’t qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore head to southern China. In theory, this will be those ranked between nine and 20 in the WTA rankings.
Taking place the week after the WTA Finals, the new event will operate on a round-robin basis with four groups of three in the singles. The winners of each will progress to the semi-finals.
There will also be a six-team doubles field split into two groups. The winners will meet in the final.
Zhuhai has been given a five-year deal to stage the tournament which will offer a prize fund of US$2.15million in 2015.
The city joins Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and Tianjin as Chinese WTA venues.
WTA boss Stacey Allaster said: “This brand-new event combining great players, a fantastic new stadium, and the magnificent location of Zhuhai is a formula that will make the WTA Elite Trophy a success.”