Qatar Airways Tournament of Champions

The WTA have announced that Qatar Airways will sponsor the fourth edition of the year end Tournament of Champions after signing a one year deal. The event, which is being held from October 30th-November 4th, will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria this year. Officially the event is going to be called the Qatar Airways Tournament of Champions under the terms of the contract. Qatar Airlines are already huge supporters of professional tennis and on the women's tour already support the Qatar Ladies Open, a major event in Doha where Victoria Azarenka was victorious this year.
          WTA Chairperson and CEO Stacey Allaster expressed the delight of the tour that the Bulgarian Federation secured such a high profile sponsorship. "We are thrilled that Qatar Airways has signed up as title sponsor of the Tournament of Champions. I congratulate the Bulgarian Tennis Federation for securing such a premium partner for the first staging of this event in Sofia.” The event is run on a similar format to that of the year end championships in Istanbul with eight women taking part. The six highest ranked players who have won at least one tournament this season will qualify and two wildcards are selected. The complete line-ups will not be known for another three weeks as players are still fighting it our for ranking slots and some players fight for places in the more prestigious championships in Istanbul. The final line-up will be complete after the Luxembourg Open which finishes on October 21st.
          The event organisers also announced that Russian Maria Kirilenko would be given the second wildcard for the event. The 25 year old has had a career best season and during the Summer reached a career best ranking of 12 and she also won a bronze medal in doubles with Nadia Petrova at the Olympic Games. Responding to her invitation she was very grateful, “I would like to thank BTF President Stefan Tzvetkov for this opportunity to compete, it will be a great way to end the season.” The first wildcard was given earlier this year to local favourite Tsvetana Pironkova. The Bulgarian is being rewarded for a steady season and is looking forward to the event, “I am very proud to have this chance to play at such a prestigious event in front of my home fans.This is why I play tennis, to compete and give my best on the big stages. I am also looking forward to welcoming some of my WTA colleagues and friends to Bulgaria. I’m sure we will put on a great show.”