WTA Brussels Event Folds

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 12th December 2013

WTA Brussels Event Folds

epa03235120 Polish Agnieszka Radwanska serves the ball during the semi final game between Polish Agnieszka Radwanska and Estonian Kaia Kanepi, at the WTA Brussels Open, Belgium, 25 May 2012. The second edition of WTA Brussels Open tennis tournament takes place from 19 to 26 May 2012. EPA/JULIEN WARNAND |

Editors note: It is the opinion around here that globally ticket prices are too high. Trying to put on a sanctioned WTA or ATP event is a headache. The rules have rules and the costs are thru the roof. If there’s a roof or not. The reality is every event needs to do their budgets over and eliminate ticket sales as revenue to help subsidize the event. It’s a bad formula and its proven it doesn’t work. For a tourney to be successful today they need great sponsors from the local level to the global level and everything in between. They need to make the fans the stars. Treat them right. Make practice sessions and autograph hunting a fun and easily and accessible experience. And don’t pay guarantee money to the marque names. They either play or not…..

While WTA business in Asia is booming, it isn’t in some of the traditional Western countries. Coming on the heels of the move of the Carlsbad tournament to Japan, the Brussels Open has folded after three years because it was bleeding money. The clay court event was held the week before Roland Garros, but despite drawing big names such as Caroline Wozniacki, Agnieszka Radwanska and Marion Bartoli it was plagued by poor attendance.

Tournament director Dominique Monami said that “the current economic context and the ever-increasing investments to meet the demands of the WTA for the Premier label made it a difficult, near impossible task.”

Brussels was a Premier level tournament in 2013, but had been downgraded to an International Series for 2014 before it folded.

As it stands now, the International Series tournament in Strasbourg is the warm-up tournament on the calendar prior to Roland Garros. It is unlikely that any other current event will want to move into that week as it is a difficult one as many of the games stars prefer not to play the week before a major.

Outside of the Grand Slams, there are now only six WTA Premier level events in Europe, compared to seven in North America, two in Australia, two in the Middle East and four in Asia, including the 2014 WTA Championships in Singapore.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Agnieszka Radwanska, Brussels Open, Carlsbad, Caroline Wozniacki, Dominique Monami, Japan, Marion Bartoli, Roland Garros, Singapore, Tennis, Tennis News, Wta

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