Other Possible Qualified Players for 2010 CBTC

There are several other high ranked players who could possibly qualify for the 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions. Shahar Peer (ISR, 13), Nadia Petrova (RUS, 16), Marion Bartoli (FRA, 17), and Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS, 20) can surpass the players on this week list of Bali possible contenders, but they need to win any of the last three international tournaments left, namely Osaka, Linz, and Luxembourg.

Petrova and Kuznetsova do not play this week and do not enroll for Luxembourg. Bartoli and Peer could not make it in Osaka. Bartoli has just lost in straight sets, 26 57, to Tamarine Tanasugarn at the semifinal in Osaka today. Shahar Peer did not take advantage of her first set win and eventually lost to home favorite and last year CBTC semifinalist, Kimiko Date Krumm, 63 67 57.

It is impossible for Date Krumm to go to Bali again even if she wins Osaka and the premium level tournament in Moscow next week. Her current points of 1090 only put her in the 56th position in the WTA Tour singles ranking. She would not surpass the points and rankings of Alysa Kleybanova (2105 at 26) and Kaia Kanepi (2490 at 22).

In Linz, Bali wild card, Ana Ivanovic (SER, 29) is playing the semifinals and now leading 63 22 against Roberta Vinci of Italy. Patty Schnyder keeps her hope alive by reaching the final after a three sets win over Andrea Petkovic, 62 46 75. At ranking of 47 and 1220 points Schnyder needs to win in Linz and get more points next week to qualify for Bali. She needs to play Moscow instead of Luxembourg in order to win more points.

Sony Ericsson Championships

The best eight women this year will compete at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Khalifa Tennis Complex, Doha, Qatar, from 27 October to 1 November 2009. They are divided into two groups of four players and will compete in round robin format.

White Group
1 Dinara Safina (RUS)
4 Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
6 Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
8 Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

Maroon Group
2 Serena Williams (USA)
3 Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
5 Elena Dementieva (RUS)
7 Venus Williams (USA)

The winner of the White Group will play the runner up of Maroon Group and the runner up of White Group will play the winner of Maroon Group in the semifinals.



Doubles

Along with the singles event, four doubles pairs are set to play in semifinals and final elimination matches. Only the best pairs of 2009 are qualified for the championship.

The Williamses, winner of most Grand Slam titles of 2009 (Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open), leads the contenders for the year-end tournament. They are followed by co-number one doubles players, Cara Black (ZIM) and Liezel Huber (USA). Spanish pair of Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez join the elité eight for the first time. They have won six doubles titles throughout the year and will be a serious threat to the top doubles players. Australian duo of Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs are in Doha not only to complete the list of players. They have won the championships twice together (Stubbs' won in 2001 with Lisa Raymond) and will try to get the third.


Dates of Play
Round Robin (Singles) 27 - 30 Oct 2009
Semi-Finals / Finals (Singles and Doubles) 31 Oct - 1 Nov 2009


Prize Money Breakdown

Singles
$1,550,000 Winner
$780,000 Finalist
RR (3 wins) $400,000
RR (2 wins) $300,000
RR (1 win) $200,000
RR (no wins) $100,000

Doubles
Winner $375,000
Finalist $187,500
Semifinalists $93,750

http://www.sonyericsson-championships.com/