Singapore showdown for women’s tennis
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has named Singapore as the host for its annual end-of-season tour championships for five years from 2014.
The championship, held in the Turkish city of Istanbul between 2011 and 2013, is considered the most prestigious event after the four Grand Slams.
The other candidates were Monterrey, in Mexico, and China’s Tianjin.
The top eight singles players and top eight doubles players will compete for record prize money of US$6.5 million.
"This is the largest and most significant WTA Championships partnership in our history. It’s a record-breaker," said WTA chief executive Stacey Allaster.
The Singapore move is part of the WTA’s stated goal of expanding women’s tennis in the Asia-Pacific region.
Allaster told the BBC the award of the event to Singapore gave the country "another strategic asset" to put alongside its F1 race.
She said the winning bid team were "very entrepreneurial" and shared the WTA’s thoughts about making the championships a leisure and lifestyle event, as well as a tennis one.
The current champion is Serena Williams, who beat Maria Sharapova in the 2012 final.
The state-of-the-art $1bn Singapore Sports Hub, located in the centre of the city, will host the championships at the 7500-seat, Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Ian Jarrett
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