The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced today that International Tennis Hall of Famer Chris Evert will return as an Official Ambassador for the 2015 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore, presented by SC Global. This year’s WTA Finals features a record $7 million purse and includes an expanded format featuring eight days of competition taking place from October 23-November 1.
The event will be hosted in Singapore through 2018.
Once again, Evert will support and promote the “Road to Singapore”, a season-long campaign which will follow the WTA stars and WTA Rising Stars on their quest to qualify and compete in the season finale.
Evert is one of the most decorated women in the history of tennis. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and was unanimously elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1995. She has been crowned champion of the WTA Finals four times and her career winning percentage in singles matches of 89.96% (1309-146) is the highest in the history of Open Era tennis, for men or women.
“I am so excited to return to Singapore as an Official Ambassador of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore, presented by SC Global,” said Evert. “I was blown away last year by the enthusiasm and support of all the fans. The bar has been set high, but I am looking forward to an even bigger and better event this year.”
“Each and every match of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is like a Grand Slam final as evidenced by the fact that the WTA Finals was the most watched tournament of 2014,” said Stacey Allaster, WTA Chairman and CEO.
“Once again, we look forward to bringing together the past, present and future for a celebration of the world’s best tennis players who have power to inspire many generations to come.”
The current Road to Singapore leaderboard is comprised of the following players (as of Monday, March 9) : 1. Serena Williams, 2. Maria Sharapova, 3. Simona Halep, 4. Kristina Pliskova, 5. Ekaterina Makarova, 6. Venus Williams, 7. Caroline Wozniacki, 8. Petra Kvitova. The leaderboard is updated each Monday and can be found at www.wtafinals.com.
Singapore became the ninth city to host the WTA Finals in 2014 joining Boca Raton (1972-73), Los Angeles (1974-76, 2002-05), Oakland (1978), New York City (1977, 1979-2000), Munich (2001), Madrid (2006-07), Doha (2008-10) and Istanbul (2011-13).
In 2015, fans and spectators of the WTA Finals can expect the WTA to amplify engagement efforts by building a deeper connection with the fan base, delivering richer, more compelling digital content and creating money can’t buy experiences all in an effort to further its vision to become the most fan-friendly sport entertainment experience on earth.
Last year, new milestones were set at the WTA Finals with record highs for attendance, TV viewing and online audiences as fans from around the world traveled to Singapore and tuned in to the exciting 10-day sport entertainment extravaganza showcasing the world’s best female athletes.
The event attracted 129,000 spectators and 93,000 fans flocked to the Singapore Sports Hub to enjoy 10 days of on- and off-court sport and entertainment in the stadium, as well as in the fan festival which offered free access to the public.
