DOHA: Grand Slam star Serena Williams of the US will be one of the top players confirmed for next month’s Qatar Total Open, the organisers said yesterday.
Williams, who has 21 Grand Slams in her stellar career, will lead a virtual star cast at the February 21-27 event to be held at Doha’s iconic Khalifa Tennis Complex.
Tennis diva Maria Sharapova of Russia, 2014 champion Simona Halep of Romania, Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and last year’s winner Lucie Safarova will also be in Doha next month.
The 64-player event will give direct entry to 43 players, Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) said yesterday.
The total prize money at the WTA Premier 5 even is a staggering $2,517,250.
Tournament Director, Saad Al Mohannadi, said yesterday: “Qatar will host a very high quality field next month at the Qatar Total Open. It is an extraordinary field and I think it will ensure quality matches. It will be exciting to see if Serena can make another memorable moment here in Doha and to watch Safarova if she can defend her title for a second time.”
Tickets for the event can be purchased online beginning on January 20th afternoon at www.qatartennis.org.
The following players will feature in the main draw: Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Muguruza Garbiñe, Sabine Lisicki, Agnieszka Radwanska, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber, Lucie Safarova, Monica Niculescu, Karolina Pliskova, Madison Brengle, Carla Suárez Navarro, Coco Vandeweghe, Timea Bacsinszky, Alizé Cornet, Belinda Bencic, Julia Goerges, Roberta Vinci, Mona Barthel, Caroline Wozniacki, Barbora Strycova, Sara Errani, Varvara Lepchenko, Elina Svitolina, Zarina Diyas, Jelena Jankovic, Annika Beck, Ekaterina Makarova, Andrea Petkovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Timea Babos, Shuai Peng, Margarita Gasparyan, Kristina Mladenovic, Irina-Camelia Begu, Lesia Tsurenko, Caroline Garcia, Camila Giorgi, Daria Gavrilova, Nao Hibino, Lucie Hradecka and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
The Peninsula
