WTA Announces Tour Revamp
Players will take part in revenue sharing and will have a shorter schedule from 2009, according to new WTA rules announced on Tuesday. At the same time, top 10 players will be obliged to play at several commitment events.
The streamlined schedule will include 20 premier events, compared to 26 now, with four mandatory tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and new evens in Madrid and Beijing. Other top-20 WTA events will be held in Sydney, Tokyo, Doha, Dubai, Paris Berlin, Rome, Stuttgart, Eastbourne, Moscow, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Stanford, New Haven, Charleston and Canada, alternating between Montreal and Toronto.
Larry Scott, CEO of the WTA Tour, says the new schedule has been drafted so as the players could avoid injury, fatigue and withdrawals n particular.
Total prize money will jump 30 percent, with a minimum of $4.7 million at the elite four events, where men and women will be paid equal money.
Top 10 players will face suspensions and fines for missing commitment events, while increases in prize money will be linked to commitments and revenue sharing.
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All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 29, 2007
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