The Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2009 will take place October 27 to November 1 and is the season-ending event of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season. The Top 8 singles players and Top 4 doubles teams in the Race to Doha are invited to compete based on results throughout the 2009 season.
PRIZE MONEY
Total prize money for the Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2009 is US$4.55 million, awarded as follows:
Singles (all amounts in USD)
Winner*: $1,550,000
Runner-up*: $780,000
Round Robin (3 wins): $400,000
Round Robin (2 wins): $300,000
Round Robin (1 win): $200,000
Round Robin (no wins): $100,000
Alternate: $50,000
(* Prize money if undefeated)
Doubles (per team; (all amounts in USD)
Winner: $375,000
Runners-up: $187,500
Semifinalists: $93,750
FORMAT
The singles event at the Sony Ericsson Championships, which features eight players, begins as a round robin event, with four players in each pool (White and Maroon, the colors of the Qatari flag). Over the first four days of competition, each player meets the other three players in their pool, with the Top 2 in each pool of four moving on to the semifinals. The first-placed player in the White Group meets the second-placed player in the Maroon Group, and vice versa. The winners of each semifinal meet in the championship match.
The doubles event at the Sony Ericsson Championships, which features four teams, is a single elimination draw, beginning with the semifinal round.
LOCATION
The Sony Ericsson Championships will be held at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, in 2008, 2009 and 2010, with Istanbul, Turkey, set to host the event in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
