news release
Transcrição
news release
NEWS RELEASE October 11, 2004 MYSKINA QUALIFIES FOR WTA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS Top doubles team of Paola Suarez and Virginia Ruano Pascual also makes the field at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles in November; Myskina clinches spot with strong showing in Filderstadt; half of the eight-player singles field still to be decided ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Reigning French Open singles champion Anastasia Myskina and the top-ranked doubles team of Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez have earned spots in the prestigious WTA Tour Championships presented by Porsche, the Tour announced today. Myskina, currently fourth in the latest Porsche Race to the Championships singles standings with 3,119 points, secured a place in the field after reaching the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt last week. She joins Lindsay Davenport, Amelie Mauresmo and reigning US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the eight-player singles field which will compete November 10-15 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. Davenport continues to lead the standings with 4,380 points after winning the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Sunday. Myskina, the second Russian to qualify this year, will be making her third straight appearance in the Championships following the best season of her young career. She is 44-15 this year and has two titles, including Roland Garros, which was the first Grand Slam crown of her career. She is ranked No. 4 in the world, but reached a career-high of No. 2 earlier this summer. Suarez and Ruano Pascual, the defending Championships doubles winners, are the first doubles team to qualify for the four-team doubles field. Suarez and Ruano Pascual (4,423 points) have held a commanding lead in the doubles standings throughout the summer and are currently 1,457 points in front of second-place Elena Likhovtseva and Kuznetsova (2,966 points). Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs are third with 2,749 points followed by Nadia Petrova and Meghann Shaughnessy with 2,608 points. Only a month remains before the Championships, and the race for the final four spots in the singles field continues to be extremely tight. Less than 900 points separates the players in positions five through 11 and three of those players - Elena Dementieva, Venus Williams and Vera Zvonareva - are competing this week in the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. The top eight singles players and the top four doubles teams in the final Porsche Race to the Championships standings qualify for the prestigious Championships. The Championships singles winner will earn $1 million in prize money and a Porsche to donate to their favorite charity. (Continued on next page) The following are the Top 15 players in the current Porsche Race to the Championships singles standings: Standing Player Country 1 2 Lindsay Davenport Amelie Mauresmo USA FRA Porsche Race Points 4,380 3,640 3 4 5 6 7 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova Anastasia Myskina Justine Henin-Hardenne Elena Dementieva Serena Williams Maria Sharapova RUS RUS BEL RUS USA RUS 3,481 3,119 2,884 2,871 2,596 2,499 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Jennifer Capriati Venus Williams Vera Zvonareva Nadia Petrova Paola Suarez Patty Schnyder Karolina Sprem USA USA RUS RUS ARG SUI CRO 2,300 2,145 2,097 1,566 1,440 1,426 1,401 Top eight Doubles Standings: Standing Team Country 1 2 3 Ruano Pascual / Suarez Kuznetsova / Likhovtseva Black / Stubbs ESP/ARG RUS/RUS ZIM/AUS Porsche Race Points 4,423 2,966 2,749 4 5 6 7 8 Shaughnessy / Petrova Navratilova / Raymond Huber / Sugiyama Husarova / Martinez Schett / Schnyder USA/RUS USA/USA RSA/JPN SVK/ESP AUT/SUI 2,608 2,070 1,378 1,331 923 [All standings based on Porsche Race to the Championships week of October 11, 2004] *** The WTA Tour Championships presented by Porsche is the largest and most lucrative women-only sporting event in the world and dates back to 1972. The top eight singles players and top four doubles teams in the Porsche Race to the Championships standings on Monday, November 8 will qualify for the season-ending tournament. The singles winner receives a record-tying $1 million, equaling the largest winner’s check in women’s sports. Former champions include all-time greats Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, Tracy Austin, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Gabriela Sabatini, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams. Kim Clijsters stands as the two-time defending champion. The Porsche Race to the Championships standings are updated weekly and posted on the WTA Tour’s website, www.wtatour.com General tournament and ticket information is available on the WTA Tour Championships Web site at www.wtachamps.com or at 1-866-WTA-CHAMP) 1-866-982-2426) The WTA Tour is the world's premier professional sport for women with more than 1,100 players representing 76 nations competing for more than $58 million in prize money at the Tour's 59 events in 29 countries, as well as the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. More than four million people attended women's tennis events in 2003 with millions more watching events on television networks around the world. The WTA Tour season concludes with the WTA Tour Championships presented by Porsche at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California, November 10-15, 2004. Further information on the Tour can be found on the Internet at www.wtatour.com. MEDIA CONTACT: Darrell Fry, WTA Tour, +1.727.515.1709, [email protected] Amy Binder, WTA Tour, +1.727.502.1234, [email protected] Michael Roth, STAPLES Center, +1.213.742.7155, [email protected]