ROBERTA VINCI AND SARA ERRANI FINISH 2012 AS TOP-RANKED WTA DOUBLES TEAM

Written by: Staff on 27th October 2012

TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships - Istanbul 2012: Day Five

ROBERTA VINCI AND SARA ERRANI FINISH 2012 AS TOP-RANKED WTA DOUBLES TEAM

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - OCTOBER 27: (L-R) WTA CEO Stacey Allaster, Sara Errani, Roberta Vinci of Italy with their year end No.1 trophies and Salah Talak, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Tournament Director of Duby Duty Free Tennis Championships pose for a photo during day five of the season ending TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships Tennis at the Sinan Erdem Dome on October 27, 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) |

ISTANBUL, TURKEY – Italy’s Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani have been named the Women’s Tennis Association’s Year-End No.1 doubles team and will be ranked No.1 and No.2 respectively in the year-end rankings on November 5, 2012.

The trophies were presented to the duo by Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Dubai Duty Free, Salah Tahlak, during an on-court presentation at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships-Istanbul.

“We have had an amazing year so we are very happy for that,” said Sara Errani. Her partner, Roberta Vinci, agreed: “It has been a good season for us and to finish No.1 is so great. We didn’t win the match today but overall we have played so well this year. We are so happy to be the first Italian pair to finish as No.1 and we are looking forward to next season.”

“We congratulate Sara and Roberta for their wonderful year and finishing as the top-ranked WTA doubles team,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA. “The doubles game has never been more exciting, and Sara and Roberta have reached the top through fantastic and memorable play throughout the year.”

“Dubai Duty Free congratulates Sara and Roberta on reaching the pinnacle of the sport in doubles,” said Mr. Tahlak, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Dubai Duty Free. “Their collective achievements in doubles and singles this year has been fantastic to watch for fans in Italy and around the world. Dubai Duty Free has been a longstanding partner of the WTA and we are proud to align ourselves with the world’s number one women’s sport and the world’s number one women athletes.”

Vinci and Errani have captured eight titles in 2012, highlighted by winning Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and the US Open, and finishing as runner-up at the Australian Open. They won 25-consecutive matches, recording the longest doubles win streak since 1994 en route to winning five consecutive titles – Barcelona Ladies Open, Mutua Madrid Open, Internazionali BNL d’Italia (Rome), Roland Garros and UNICEF Open (‘s-Hertogenbosch). As a result of their success, they are the top-seeded doubles team at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships – Istanbul.

First teaming up on a regular basis in 2010, Errani and Vinci collected a total of 13 doubles titles as a team throughout their career. Both Errani and Vinci have also added three titles with different partners, bringing their individual doubles title count to 16 each.

Both Errani and Vinci had career-best years in both singles and doubles. In singles, Errani made her Top 10 debut after reaching her maiden Grand Slam singles final at Roland Garros while winning four WTA singles titles. Meanwhile, Vinci reached a career-best singles ranking of No.15 after advancing to her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open. The Italians have each held the WTA World No.1 doubles ranking this year. Errani ascended the rankings for the first time on September 10, after winning the US Open and held the World No.1 ranking for five weeks until Vinci moved ahead up her teammate on October 17, 2012.