WTA Finals shifted from Singapore to Shenzhen, China, from 2019 | Tennis News - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

WTA Finals shifted from Singapore to Shenzhen, China, from 2019

Associated Press, Melbourne | ByAssociated Press
Jan 18, 2018 05:36 PM IST

The WTA Finals will be held in Shenzhen in China for a period of 10 years with an increased total prize money of $14 million.

The WTA has signed a long-term deal to move its season-ending WTA Finals to Shenzhen, China, in 2019 and will increase total prize money to $14 million, double the previous purse.

Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki is the defending WTA Finals champion.(Reuters)
Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki is the defending WTA Finals champion.(Reuters)

The move represents a significant investment in the China market at a time when the sport is aggressively expanding its reach in the country, with the addition of a number of new tournaments in recent years. The WTA signed a 10-year deal to stage the finals in Shenzhen — double the length of the current commitment in Singapore, the host since 2014.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

READ | Maria Sharapova pleased with her performance at Australian Open so far

The prize money for the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams is also a major upgrade from the current purse of $7 million and is nearly double the $8 million in total prize money on offer at the ATP Finals in London.

The WTA said the Chinese real estate developer Gemdale Corporation submitted the winning bid and will build a 12,000-seat stadium in downtown Shenzhen.

“We are very excited about the opportunity I think that Shenzhen brings,” Steve Simon, the CEO of the WTA Tour, said at the Australian Open on Thursday. “With the new arena that’s being built, it will be built in the downtown district, which hasn’t been done. Most of the time it’s on the outskirts, and now it’s there.”

Attendance has been a concern at ATP and WTA events in China in recent years, particularly at tournaments in cities such as Wuhan and Tianjin, but Simon believes the WTA Finals will attract a sizable audience in a major metropolitan region like the Pearl River Delta.

READ | Australian Open: Simona Halep eases past struggling Eugenie Bouchard

“When you have 20 million people in that downtown district, plus 68 million in the entire delta region,” he said, “we feel confident we’re going to be able to fill (the arena).”

The 10-year commitment is also far longer than the WTA has signed in previous host cities, a cause for possible concern if attendance figures don’t reach initial expectations.

Simon said, however, that time is needed to build a successful event in a new market. He spoke in 2016 of finding a more permanent home for the finals, saying at the time that Singapore was a city “we’d be very proud to call home.”

In a statement on Wednesday, the Singapore Tourism Board said it had evaluated a possible extension of the WTA Finals hosting agreement with the national agency Sport Singapore and “decided not to pursue this.” It did not elaborate on the reasons.

READ | David Goffin exits Australian Open after losing to Julien Benneteau

Simon said the WTA would evaluate whether it could bring another tournament to Singapore in the future.

“We have created a good market down there, and I would hate to see it get vacated,” he said. “I don’t have one to put there today, but it’s something we will certainly look at.”

Shenzhen already hosts a WTA tournament in early January, one of the tune-up tournaments for the Australian Open.

Maria Sharapova, who played in the Shenzhen Open at the start of this season, said the WTA was making a good strategic move to partner with “a place that’s willing to invest in women’s tennis.”

“They were the ones that put the money on the line,” Sharapova said. “They are willing to grow our sport. They’re willing to build a stadium, willing to accept the game and its level and the players.”

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On