The WTA awarded Singapore its season-ending championships for five years beginning in ‘14, culminating an 18-month search for the next host city. Singapore was selected from an initial group of 40. The final cities were Singapore; Tianjin, China; and Monterrey, Mexico. The championships will grow in Singapore to include doubles championships, a stars of tomorrow event and fan engagement activities stretching over 10 days. WTA Chair & CEO Stacey Allaster said her hope is to mimic the type of atmosphere the Super Bowl enjoys in the week leading up to the game. Singapore also adds to the WTA’s Asia–Pacific strategy, she said, making the region the top one now in women’s tennis. Allaster declined to disclose financial terms, but said the prize money would increase to $6.5M next year from $6M this year in Istanbul, the final campaign of three years in the Turkish city. Lagardere unit World Sports Group advised the Singapore bid. The event will be hosted at the soon to be completed Sports Hub, a $1B development that includes a 7,500-seat arena (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer). Allaster said moving the event to Singapore allows the WTA to bring the game “to markets where we can’t go with our regular calendar.” Allaster noted that the five-year deal with Singapore is the “first time the WTA has locked into a city for the year-end event for more than three years.” The last three hosts -- Istanbul, Qatar and Madrid -- “have been for two or three years” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/8).
