Peschke/Schiavone Complete Doubles Line-Up

ST PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The doubles line-up for the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships is now complete following the qualification of Kveta Peschke (CZE) and Francesca Schiavone (ITA). Winners of three Sony Ericsson WTA Tour doubles titles this year, Pescke/Schiavone are the fourth team to gain inclusion in the Tour's crown jewel, $3-million event, set to take place at Madrid Arena in the Spanish capital, November 7-12.

Peschke and Schiavone have won titles this year at the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open in Dubai, Fortis Championships in Luxembourg and Kremlin Cup in Moscow, complimenting their semi-final finish at the US Open and quarterfinal efforts at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. It is the first time both women have qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships.

"Playing the Sony Ericsson Championships will be a new and amazing experience for me," said Schiavone. "I'm excited to enjoy this with my partner; I'm looking forward to coming to Madrid and doing our best."

"Kveta and Francesca are one of the most entertaining and competitive teams on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, and I'm sure Spanish tennis fans will enjoy their matches in Madrid," said Larry Scott, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. "They have a lot of fun on the court, and although they're a relatively new team they could pose a serious threat to the more established teams. We have a very strong doubles line-up in Madrid, and I'm thrilled we'll be able to showcase doubles at its very best."

"The 2006 Sony Ericsson Championships will again feature the very best doubles players from around the world battling it out to be crowned end-of-season champions,"" said Dee Dutta, CVP and Head of Marketing at Sony Ericsson.  "We are very proud to be sponsoring this phenomenal event. The Sony Ericsson Championships is about bringing together the best of the best and with a whole raft of innovations and events set to be unveiled it will be a truly memorable week in Madrid.""

The Sony Ericsson Championships gather the Top 8 singles players and Top 4 doubles teams from the regular 2006 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season as they battle it out for the season-ending titles and a share of the $3-million purse. The defending champions are Amélie Mauresmo (FRA) in singles and Lisa Raymond (USA) and Samantha Stosur (AUS) in doubles.

Six of the eight singles contenders have also been decided, with Mauresmo joined by Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL), Maria Sharapova (RUS), Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS), Nadia Petrova (RUS) and Elena Dementieva (RUS). Martina Hingis (SUI), Kim Clijsters (BEL) and Patty Schnyder (SUI) are battling it out for the last two singles berths.

Roland Garros champions Raymond and Stosur, who currently lead the Doubles Race with 3805 points, were the first players to qualify for the doubles portion of the 2006 Sony Ericsson Championships. Australian Open and Wimbledon champions Yan Zi (CHN) and Zheng Jie (CHN), in second place in the Race with 3022 points, will be the first-ever Chinese players to contest the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's season-ending Championships. The third team to qualify was Cara Black (ZIM) and Rennae Stubbs (AUS), with 2459 points and runners-up in this event the past two years.

Unlike the singles event in the Sony Ericsson Championships, which employs a round robin format, the doubles title is decided by a straight knockout semi-final and final round played over the last two days of the tournament.