The Womenās Tennis AssociationĀ (WTA) announced today that 2013 Wimbledon champion MarionĀ Bartoli will play in the inaugural WTA Legends Event at theĀ BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SCĀ Global.
The 29-year-old French star joins MartinaĀ Navratilova and Tracy Austin in the four-player field, withĀ the participation of another legend of womenās tennisĀ to be announced shortly.
For the firstĀ time in the 44-year history of the WTA Finals, a city inĀ Asia-Pacific will host the prestigious year-end tournament,Ā which will take place duringĀ October 17-26, 2014, and through 2018.Ā A Legends matchĀ is scheduled for Session 1 (Monday, October 20), Session 4Ā (Wednesday, October 22) and Session 6 (Thursday, OctoberĀ 23), admission covered by the ticket price for theĀ respective session.
Over the courseĀ of the three sessions each Legend will play threeĀ best-of-three-set doubles matches in round robin, rotatingĀ partners, with the player who accumulates the most points toĀ be crowned Legends Champion.ĀĀĀ
āDuring my playing career I had theĀ honor of competing in the WTA Finals at Madrid and Istanbul,Ā so I canāt wait to see what Singapore has in store toĀ take our season finale to new heights,ā said Bartoli.
āItās so exciting that a Legends contest hasĀ been added to what promises to be an amazing 10-day sportsĀ festival. It will be a chance to relive memories and alsoĀ make new ones, and Iām sure I speak for the otherĀ legends when I say weāll all be in it to winĀ it!ā
“AnĀ inspirational champion who played her last match on the WTAĀ barely a year ago, Marion is a wonderful
ambassador for women’s tennis who continues to give soĀ much back to the game,” said Stacey AllĀaster, WTA
Chairman and CEO. “I know the fans in Singapore will beĀ engaged by her intelligence, energy and passion for ourĀ sport ā and thrill to the unique playingĀ style that made her a favorite all over theĀ world.”
In addition to capturing 2013 Wimbledon withĀ victory over Sabine Lisicki in the final, Bartoli reachedĀ the title match at the All England Club in 2007, defeatingĀ World No.1 Justine Henin in the semis beforeĀ finishing runner-up to Venus Williams. Overall she reachedĀ 19 WTA finals, her eight singles titles includingĀ Premier-level wins at the Bank of the West ClassicĀ (Stanford) in 2009 and the AEGON International (Eastbourne)Ā in 2011.
A semifinalist at her home Grand Slam ofĀ Roland Garros in 2011, Bartoli reached at least theĀ quarterfinals at all four majors. She ranked inside the TopĀ 20 every week for the last six years of her career,Ā spending 111 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 10, peakingĀ at No.7. Joining Bartoli, Austin and Navratilova inĀ Singapore in October will be fellow WTA greats Billie JeanĀ King and Chris Evert, who will serve as Official AmbassadorsĀ for the BNP Paribas WTA FinalsĀ Singapore presented by SC Global.
The WTA FinalsĀ was the most-watched WTA event of 2013, setting recordĀ broadcast and digital audience milestones with coverage inĀ 170 countries via 50 broadcastersĀ and 1,000 overall hours produced, which includes liveĀ matches, match replays, and playerĀ highlights.Ā Ā
The 2013 WTA Finals set new recordsĀ for fan engagement earning 15 million more fans acrossĀ social media during the three years in Istanbul, with moreĀ thanĀ 150 million reached via #WTAChamps.
Under the all-encompassing brand identityĀ āOn Top Of The Worldā,Ā Singapore will become the ninthĀ different city to host the WTA Finals following Boca RatonĀ (1972-1973), Los Angeles (1974-1976, 2002-2005), OaklandĀ (1978), New York City (1977, 1979-2000), Munich (2001),Ā Madrid (2006-2007), Doha (2008-2010) andĀ IstanbulĀ (2011-2013). As well as the new WTA Legends Event, in otherĀ firsts for Singapore the WTAās Rising Stars and FutureĀ Stars from across Southeast Asia will also be given a stageĀ to showcase their talents.
