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]