WTA Tournament Of Champions Moves To Sofia

Written by: Staff on 10th November 2011

WTA Tournament Of Champions Moves To Sofia

Ana Ivanovic from Serbia holds her winner's trophy after beating Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain (not pictured) in the final of the WTA Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, 06 November 2011. EPA/MADE NAGI |

The last ball has been hit in Bali, at least for now, as the Tournament of Champions moves to Sofia, Bulgaria from 2012-2014. That is seen as a massive disappointment by many of the players that have played either the TOC or the regular WTA tour event in Bali over the past 11 years.

The event, despite being a modest Tier 3 or International Series, has attracted many of the best players in the world. Among the biggest names were Lindsay Davenport, who won her first tournament there after the birth of her first child, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, who won the event three times in three visits, including the time she flew straight from winning the US Open.

There was also Ana Ivanovic, who lost in the first round on her first visit but returned to become a two-time champion, and Daniela Hantuchova, who was reluctant to go to Bali after the bombings there but then declared it as her favorite tournament. Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario are among other top players who also played the tournament.

“I love this event,” said Ivanovic. “Last year when I won it it’s been great memories and now I fell in love with the place again. It’s a really nice place to play and compete and enjoy it as well. People are so friendly and positive and it’s nice to see that. It’s beautiful spas and I never really find time for that but here you just have to. It’s so inviting, to relax and wind down.

“I’m a little bit sad because they did a really good job and I enjoyed my time here. It’s been really a pleasure for me to come and compete here. I hope they can get a tournament again.”

Hantuchova said, “I think everybody’s going to miss it. It’s very sad. It’s unfortunate because I think everybody that has ever been here enjoys coming back. It’s such a wonderful place to play a tournament.

“It makes you so relaxed and I think makes you play so much better because there’s just no distractions and we’re enjoying every minute of it. I think we’re all going to miss it. You don’t get a feeling like this anywhere else.”

“DAILY TENNIS NEWS WIRE”

Topics: Sofia, WTA Tournament of Champions

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.