WTA Finals tickets go on sale on May 10

Singapore

THE fifth and final edition of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Finals in Singapore takes place this October, with ticket sales for the country's largest tennis event starting on May 10.

The season-ending US$7 million tournament - called the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global - features the top eight singles players and doubles teams in action.

The players are now busy racking up as many qualifying points as possible at different tournaments throughout the year in order to book a place to compete in Singapore.

Among those currently at the top of the "Porsche: Race to Singapore" leaderboard are last year's winner Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Australian Open 2018 finalist Simona Halep from Romania, and German star Angelique Kerber.

There will be eight days of tennis spread across 11 sessions at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from Oct 21 to 28.

The cheapest seat goes for S$27 for two of the weekday sessions, while the priciest is S$239 for a Category A ticket to watch the final on Oct 28.

Lagardère Sports, the event organiser and promoter, said that it will continue to give back to the local community through its "Advantage Singapore: The Final Serve", an initiative dedicated to community engagement that started in 2015.

This final edition of the WTA Finals will see a dollar from every ticket sold and S$10 from the sale of every Racquet Club pass go towards SportCares, a local organisation that helps youths from vulnerable backgrounds lead a healthier lifestyle and live better through sports.

The Racquet Club is the name of the tournament's VIP hospitality programme. Prices for these tickets start at S$530 and go up to S$2,140 for the grand final.

In addition, there will be a charity silent auction of a series of autographed rackets, including one signed by WTA founder and American former world No 1 player Billie Jean King, at the Racquet Club during the event.

One of the players who hopes to feature at this year's WTA Finals is Latisha Chan, a 28-year-old from Taiwan who is the current world No 1 doubles player.

She took part in the last three editions of the tournament, twice with her sister Chan Hao-ching and once with Swiss five-time grand slam singles champion Martina Hingis.

Chan, who was in Singapore over the weekend to promote the upcoming launch of the ticket sales, said: "It makes me really happy as an Asian player that Singapore was chosen to host such a prestigious tournament, and I am so proud that the event has grown to the next level during its time here in Asia."