WTA Distributing Tournaments Around The World

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 11th January 2013

WTA Distributing Tournaments Around The World |

The WTA is distributing tournaments around the world. With Tokyo moving to Wuhan , and the three other China events – Suzhou (Week 32), Ningbo (Week 39) and Nanjing (Week 44). coupled with the relocation of an International event to Hong Kong in Week 37 in 2014, China will host five of the 18 events in the Asia-Pacific region.

WTA tennis will return to Poland and Brazil in 2013, with Brazil set to welcome a second event in 2014.

The WTA will return to Poland with an International event staged the week of April 8, 2013 (Week 15), in Katowice , located approximately 50 miles (80 km) from Krakow .

For the first time in its 40-year history, the WTA will also host three International events in South America during the 2014 season. In addition to the event in Bogota , Colombia , and Florianopolis , Brazil , which will hold its inaugural event in 2013, an International event will be relocated to Rio de Janeiro in Week 8.

The WTA’s commitment to the sport’s development in emerging markets is best demonstrated in the APAC region, as the popularity of the sport has seen dramatic growth. Led by the organization’s Beijing office, the WTA works closely with the China Open, Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, Chinese Tennis Association and local sports organizations to develop professional tennis in the region.

With the addition of Shenzhen in 2013, and Hong Kong and Wuhan the following year, there will be a record 16 tournaments within the APAC region in 2013, and 18 events are scheduled for 2014, five in China.

The WTA 125 Series, which was introduced with two events in 2012, is a new stream of tournaments that provides developing markets with the opportunity to showcase WTA women’s professional tennis and offer developmental opportunities for rising players. Three new WTA 125 events will be added in 2013 within China , bringing the WTA 125 series count to six: Taipei (Week 44), Pune , India (Week 45), Cali , Colombia (Week 7),