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FAQSONY ERICSSON CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Sony Ericsson Championships is the most prestigious and important tournament in professional women's tennis. It is the final event in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour calendar, contested by only the very best players in the world.
The 2008 season will conclude in November with the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar. Sony Ericsson WTA Tour events are viewed across the globe, reaching hundreds of millions of households, and are immensely popular in person, attracting more than four million spectators worldwide.
WHO PARTICIPATES IN IT?
Players accumulate points in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments during the year, and at the end of the season only the top eight singles players participate in the Sony Ericsson Championships. Justine Henin (1), Svetlana Kuznetsova (2), Jelena Jankovic (3), Ana Ivanovic (4), Serena Williams (5), Anna Chakvetadze (6), Daniela Hantuchova (7) and Maria Sharapova (8) participated in the Sony Ericsson Championships celebrated in Madrid in 2007. Justine Henin achieved the 2007 number one position of the ranking and the Championships title.
The doubles component of the Sony Ericsson Championships were played by the four best teams of the season. The victors in Madrid were Cara Black and Liezel Huber..
COMPETITION FORMAT
In the Sony Ericsson Championships the eight singles players are divided into two teams of four. From Tuesday through Friday the two groups play in a round robin format, meaning each player meets one another in their group. The best two performed players of each group go on to the final phase that takes place during the weekend. In the semi-finals the first-placed woman from one group meets with the second-placed woman from the other, with the winners advancing to the final. All the matches are played to best-of-three-sets.
The four-team doubles event is a straight knockout affair, with the winning team essentially needing to score semi-final and final victories.
PRIZES
The Sony Ericsson Championships gives $4.45 million dollars in prize money in addition to being proclaimed the one of the best players of the season.
COVERAGE
The Sony Ericsson Championships generates an immense amount of media coverage, unrivalled by any other women's only sports event.
SONY ERICSSON CHAMPIONSHIPS 2008
This prestigious tournament will be celebrated in 2008 from November 4 to 9 at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex, venue for the current Qatar Total Open.
WHAT IS SONY ERICSSON WTA TOUR?
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is the world’s largest premier professional sport for women with more than 1,300 players representing 75 nations competing for $60 million in prize money at the Tour’s 62 events in 35 countries. More than 4.5 million people attended women’s tennis events in 2005 with millions more watching events on television networks around the world.
Tournaments per continent:
25 Europe
15 North America/Central America
14 Asia
6 Australia/New Zealand
1 Africa
1 South America
* There was a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event held in Spain until 2003, the last edition taking place in May 2003 at the Club de Campo in Madrid. Barcelona has also previously hosted a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event.
The Sony Ericsson Championships, the four Grand Slams and the 57 Tier Tournaments are part of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
CLASSIFICATION OF TOURNAMENTS
The 57 tournaments are classified in five groups according to the quantity of prize money that is given out.
Tier II: tournaments having minimum prize money of $ 600,000 and approved in this Tier by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. There are 15 of these events.
Tier III: tournaments having minimum prize money of $ 175,000 and approved in the Tier by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. There are 17 of these events.
Tier IV: tournaments having minimum prize money of $ 145,000 and approved in the Tier by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. There are 15 of these events.
* From 1994 to 2003, a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournament was held in Spain. This tournament was a Tier III event, offering US$170,000 in prizemoney. The last edition of this tournament was held in 2003 at the Club de Campo in Madrid.
Players accumulate points during the season in these tournaments and in the four Grand Slams (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open). At season's end, only the top eight singles players and top four doubles teams participate in the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.
PRIZE MONEY
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour awards more than US$60 million in prizemoney per season.
