News Release

News Release
Friday, July 11, 2014
DOUBLES TEAM OF SARA ERRANI AND ROBERTA VINCI QUALIFY FOR
BNP PARIBAS WTA FINALS PRESENTED BY SC GLOBAL

First doubles team to qualify for the 2014 WTA Finals in Singapore as competition expands to
eight teams
ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced that the World No.1 doubles team, Sara
Errani and Roberta Vinci, have become the first doubles team to qualify for this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore
presented by SC Global, to be staged at the Singapore Sports Hub from October 17-26, 2014.
The announcement comes the same week as the Italian doubles team returned to the co-No.1 position in the WTA
Doubles Rankings after winning the title at Wimbledon. With the win, they became the fifth team in the Open Era to
complete a Career Grand Slam adding to their previous Grand Slam doubles titles at Australian Open (2013, 2014), Roland
Garros (2012) and US Open (2012). As a team, they have won 196 matches and have reached eight of the last 11 Grand
Slam finals, including the first three Slams of 2014. They also won titles at the Porsche Grand Prix (Stuttgart) and the
Mutua Madrid Open bringing their career doubles titles tally as a team to 20. They have also compiled an undefeated
record to date in Fed Cup doubles competition for Italy.
“Sara and Roberta have formed one of the most dominant partnerships in the last few years,” said Stacey Allaster, WTA
Chairman and CEO. "Over the years, fans worldwide have shown a growing appreciation and respect for their level of
competitiveness as they etch their names into the WTA record books. I know they will be eager to compete in Singapore
as they look to build on their partnership competing for the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Doubles Trophy."
The 2014 WTA Finals marks Errani and Vinci’s third consecutive year competing at the prestigious year-end event. In 2012
they earned the distinction of becoming the first all-Italian team to compete at the event and went on to finish both the
2012 and 2013 seasons as WTA Doubles Team of the Year. Vinci is returning to the WTA Finals for the fourth time in her
career: her appearances now span a 13-year period, having made her debut in 2001 partnering with Sandrine Testud.
Errani, who played in both the singles and doubles events in 2012 and 2013, has qualified in doubles for the third straight
year and currently sits in 12th position to secure a singles position as well.
The 2014 WTA Finals will feature the Top 8 singles players competing in a round-robin event, while the Top 8 doubles
teams will be competing in a single-elimination draw competing for the newly-named WTA Finals Martina Navratilova
Doubles Trophy. The Road to Singapore Doubles Leaderboard is based on the best 11 results during the 2014 season for
each respective team.
The WTA Finals was the most-watched WTA event of 2013, setting record broadcast and digital audience milestones with
coverage in 170 countries via 50 broadcasters and 1,000 overall hours produced, which includes live matches, match
replays, and player highlights. The 2013 WTA Finals set new records for fan engagement earning 15 million more fans
across social media during the three years in Istanbul, with more than 150 million reached via #WTAFinals.
With the slogan “On Top of The World”, Singapore will become the ninth different city to host the WTA Finals following
Boca Raton (1972-1973), Los Angeles (1974-1976, 2002-2005), Oakland (1978), New York City (1977, 1979-2000), Munich
(2001), Madrid (2006-2007), Doha (2008-2010) and Istanbul (2011-2013).
DOUBLES: ROAD TO SINGAPORE LEADERBOARD - AS OF MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014
RTS RANK
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
---9
10
PLAYER
Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA)
Hsieh/Peng (TPE/CHN)
Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO)
Black/Mirza (ZIM/IND)
Kops-Jones/Spears (USA/USA)
Makarova/Vesnina (RUS/RUS)
Medina Garrigues/Shvedova (ESP/KAZ)
Rodionova/Kudryavtseva (AUS/RUS)
Barty/Dellacqua (AUS/AUS)
Muguruza/Suarez Navarro (ESP/ESP)
RTS POINTS
8480
4672
3530
3395
3125
2837
2316
2180
1900
1885
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kevin Fischer, WTA, [email protected], +1.727.502.1259
Simon Wilson, WSG, +65.6826.2688, [email protected]
Yi Shi Ho, Edelman for WSG, +65.9225.8516, [email protected]
Tinaga A, Olief, WTA APAC +65.8318.7424, [email protected]
About WTA:
The WTA is the global leader in women’s professional sport with more than 2,500 players representing 92 nations competing for a record $118 million
in prize money at the WTA’s 54 events and four Grand Slams in 33 countries. Close to 5.4 million people attended women’s tennis events in 2013 with
millions more watching on television and digital channels around the world. The 2014 WTA competitive season concludes with the BNP Paribas WTA
Finals Singapore presented by SC Global October 17-26, 2014 and the Garanti Koza Tournament of Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria, October 28-November
2, 2014. Further information on the WTA can be found at www.wtatennis.com; facebook.com/WTA and twitter.com/WTA.
About World Sport Group:
World Sport Group (WSG) is Asia’s largest sports marketing, media and event management company. The Group is involved in delivering almost 600
sporting events annually and more than 5,000 hours of sport programming across more than 30 countries in the region. WSG is the exclusive
marketing, media and event partner to the region’s leading sporting bodies, major events, sporting venues, athletes, sponsors and broadcasters.
WSG’s parent company, Lagardère, is a world-class diversified media group (Book and e-Publishing; Travel Retail and Distribution; Press, Audiovisual,
Digital and Advertising Sales Brokerage; Sports and Entertainment). Lagardère shares are listed on Euronext Paris.
www.wsgworld.com