DULKO AND PENNETTA QUALIFY FOR TEB BNP PARIBAS WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS-ISTANBUL

Written by: Staff on 11th October 2011

DULKO AND PENNETTA QUALIFY FOR TEB BNP PARIBAS WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS-ISTANBUL

Runner-up pairs of the doubles Flavia Pennetta (L) of Italy and Gisela Dulko of Argentina (R) pose with the runner-up's plate after the final of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan, 01 October, 2011. U.S. pairs Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond won the doubles title. EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA |

· Defending champions return for second year

· Two teams competing for final doubles spot

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) today announced that Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta are the third doubles team to secure their place at the prestigious year-end TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, to be hosted at the state of the art Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul, Turkey from October 25-30, 2011.

Dulko/Pennetta join the teams of Kveta Peschke/Katarina Srebotnik and Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond who have already qualified for the Championships. The teams of Victoria Azarenka/Maria Kirilenko and Vania King/Yaroslava Shvedova are competing for the final doubles spot.

The WTA’s year-end finale, to be held in Istanbul through 2013, will feature the world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams competing for the coveted title and a share of the $5 million in prize money. So far, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, Li Na, Vera Zvonareva and Sam Stosur have qualified in singles for the year-end event. The WTA and partner Turkish Tennis Federation’s goal is to deliver the best finale in history to fans of women’s tennis in Turkey and all over the world.

“It is terrific that last year’s doubles champions will be back to defend their title in Istanbul,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA. “Gisela and Flavia broke through to win their first Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open, held the World No.1 doubles ranking between them for eight months, and have hit great form recently to reach consecutive finals at Premier tournaments in Asia.”

“Prior to the trip to Asia, we didn’t think we would have a chance to make it to Championships, but since then we’ve played very well and reached two finals. We are so happy to get back to the Championships together and hope to play well. We usually do well when the pressure is high, so it will be a great opportunity to play in a new city and new venue,” said Gisela Dulko.

Defending champions Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta return to the season-ending Championships for the second time. Last year they defeated Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik to take the title, one of seven titles they captured in 2010. At the start of the year the duo won their first Grand Slam doubles title at the Australian Open with a thrilling come-from-behind win over Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko. They also reached back-to-back finals at the Toray Pan Pacific Open (Tokyo, l. Huber/Raymond) and the China Open (Beijing, l. Peschke/Srebotnik). Dulko and Pennetta held the World No.1 doubles ranking, either individually or jointly, from November 2010 until this year’s Wimbledon.

RACE TO THE TEB BNP PARIBAS WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS (as of October 11, 2011)

SINGLES DOUBLES

PLAYER POINTS RACE STANDING TEAM POINTS RACE STANDING

Caroline Wozniacki* 7395 1 Peschke/Srebotnik* 9291 1

Maria Sharapova* 6370 2 Huber/Raymond* 6773 2

Petra Kvitova* 5691 3 Dulko/Pennetta*^ 5776 3

Victoria Azarenka* 5590 4 King/Shvedova 5530 4

Li Na* 5351 5 Azarenka/Kirilenko 5490 5

Vera Zvonareva* 5190 6

Samantha Stosur* 4975 7

Agnieszka Radwanska 4940 8

Andrea Petkovic 4580 9

Marion Bartoli 4455 10

*Denotes player/team has already qualified

^Includes Points from Linz