Show me the money: Serena Williams breaks WTA season prize mark

Serena Williams, finishing off her most lucrative year in women’s tennis with a win at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, is again ranked No. 1 in the world.

And with her latest win, Serena has set the record for single-season prize money in women’s tennis by topping $6.5 million in 2009.

Williams broke the WTA mark of slightly under $5.5 million, earned by Justine Henin in 2007.

The American won the season-ending tour championships Sunday, beating older sister Venus in the final, to regain the No. 1 ranking. The younger Williams also won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2009.

The Doha tournament, which featured the top eight women in the world, saw top-ranked Dinara Safina retire in her first match with a serious back injury, and No. 4 Caroline Wozniacki forced to quit in her semifinal against Serena Williams.

Earlier this year, $erena became the top earning female athlete ever,  and with these latest wins her  career prize money is now at a record $28.5 million.

Serena remembers earning her first check of $240 at Québec City in 1995 so that’s quite a pay raise!

Girl Gone Wild: Kirsten Wild wins first Women’s Tour of Qatar

Dutch rider Kirsten Wild won the Ladies Tour of Qatar, the first women’s cycle race to be staged in the Middle East. 

“I am very happy to have got this win at the start of the season all the girls helped me to get in the right place and I was able to do enough to win,” said Wild shortly before being presented with the yellow jersey on the podium.

Despite indifference from the public, competitors in the first women’s professional cycling race to be held in the Middle East feel the event marked a milestone in sport.

“I was surprised when I heard this race was going to happen but it’s always a step forward for women’s cycling,” Australian rider Rochelle Gilmore told Reuters as she waited for the start on Sunday.

Cultural challenges

Though Qatar has hosted a men’s race for the previous eight years this was the first time a women’s race had taken to the streets. Women’s sport is still a thorny issue for many Islamic countries.

The relatively moderate Arab Nation already has its own female volleyball team. Last year Qatar also hosted a major WTA tournament.  But other sports, where more revealing clothing is required, are still in a fledgling state. Soccer for girls is still in its infancy and swimmer competitions are not permitted.

To promote women’s equality in sport in Qatar, a number of high profile female tennis players like Billie Jean King and Venus Williams have partnered with UNESCO.

Ladies Tour

The cycling event kicked-off on Sunday outside Doha’s imposing Museum of Islamic Art. Only about two dozen spectators watched the midday start but the race, which featured seven of the world’s top eight teams, attracted plenty of media coverage, both on television and in local newspapers.

The nearly 90 riders had been warned by race officials to respect local customs and habits and by all accounts the race went smoothly.

“We are very proud of this event, a women’s race for the first time in the Middle East,” said Belgian former champion Eddy Merckx, an advisor to the women’s race which followed last week’s men’s Tour of Qatar.

Read more

Venus captures Sony Ericsson Championships title

November 9, 2008 – The WTA Sony Ericsson Championships – Doha 2008 have concluded with Venus Williams winning her first season-ending title, and the world’s number one doubles team  Cara Black and Liezel Huber defending their crown.

Venus Williams rallied to defeat Vera Zvonareva 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-2 Sunday at the season-ending event in Dohar, Qatar.

The players were both 4-0 coming into the match but Wimbledon champion Williams took command in the last two sets with powerful serving, smashes and aggressive groundstrokes against her Russian opponent.

Williams won $1.34 million at the event, which for the first time offered the same prize money as the men at the ATP’s season-ending Masters Cup. With the check, Williams overtook Martina Navratilova and became fourth on the all-time women’s prizemoney list.

The first lady of Qatar, a conservative Muslim sheikdom, presented the trophy to Williams, shaking her hand and kissing her on both cheeks. Sheika Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned wore a traditional black head scarf and robe.

Such a public appearance by a ruler’s wife is unusual in the region. Mozah might be one of several wives; many emirs and kings in the Gulf have multiple wives — up to the four permitted by Islam.

Billie Jean King sat with Mozah and other dignitaries during the match and joined Williams on the court for the awards ceremony. The trophy is named for King. 

 [+]

Venus Williams defeats Jankovic in Doha to advance

November 8, 2008 – Venus Williams will play Vera Zvonareva in the Tour Championships final after she beat world number one Jelena Jankovic 6-2 2-6 6-3 in Doha. 

Williams came through a close third set when she saved four breakpoints for a 4-2 lead and the sixth game alone had all the drama of a whole match. With the win, she will be making her first appearance in a final of the end of season event.

In the other semifinal, Zvonareva beat fellow Russian Elena Dementieva 7-6 3-6 6-3 to advance. [+]

Match Highlights:

Tennis: Promoting gender equality in Doha

November 7, 2008 – As the top women’s tennis players battle it out at the last tourney of the WTA season, the spotlight is on female athletes in the host country of Qatar, a conservative Muslim sheikdom.

Girls and women have far fewer opportunities than men in sports and other fields in Qatar, which sent an all-male team to the Beijing Olympics this year. 

Even advertising the WTA event in a way that doesn’t offend Muslim culture is challenging. In other words – there can be no pictures of women players in their skirts and tanks – only silhouettes.

Billie Jean King, who formed the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973,  is in Qatar this week to promote gender equality in sport. She acknowledges that change is difficult and takes time.

According to Sportsline:

“That’s actually one of the big reasons I wanted to come here, was to learn,” said King, who is attending the WTA’s season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha. “I really want to listen this week more than anything.”

King, a vocal proponent of equal prize money for male and female professional tennis players, said a shift toward gender parity in sport is a gradual process that requires respect for all cultures and religions.

Two years ago, the WTA Tour and UNESCO started a program to promote women’s equality in sport, and King was declared “global mentor” of the program at a news conference in Doha on Thursday.

King joins fellow tennis players Venus Williams, the partnership’s global Promoter for Gender Equality, Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin and Zheng Jie from China, who are regional Promoters of Gender Equality for the partnership. Visit WSF or UNESCO site for more info on the program.

Championship Play: On the competition front,  Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic have both withdrawn from their Friday matches at the Sony Ericsson Championship due to injury and illness. Alternates Agnieszka Radwanska and Nadia Petrova have stepped up.

Ivanovic, who turned 21 on Thursday, won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in June and briefly topped the world rankings, but has since lost 10 out of 20 matches.

Meanwhile Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic both reach the semifinals. Venus beat sister Serena to advance.  Jankovic moves on along with Vera Zvonareva who upset her during the round-robin competition.

WTA Results

Tennis: Top women in Qatar for season-ender

November 3, 2008 – After a wide open year in women’s tennis, with half a dozen players sharing the top ranking, the best in the world are now in Doha for the WTA Tour’s season-ending championship. 

For those in need of a quick geography lesson, Doha is the capital of Qatar located on the Persian Gulf.  The oil-rich conservative Muslim country enjoys world-class features and will be home to WTA season-ending championship for the next three years (after which it will shift to Istanbul Turkey).

This Sony Ericsson tournament is without its defending champion following the retirement of Justine Henin in May.  With Henin out and a shoulder injury sidelining Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova there is no clear favorite in this tourney. The world’s top eight women’s singles and top four women’s doubles teams compete for the title and a share of a record prize money of $4.45 million.  Russians make up half of the top eight singles. 

The contenders include:

Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic, who hasn’t won a major but will finish the year in the top spot; No. 3 Serena Williams, who surged to victory at the U.S. Open for her ninth Grand Slam; and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, who won her first major at the French Open, but slid to No. 4 after a string of losses.

Other elite contenders are Wimbledon winner Venus Williams and the Russian contingent of second-ranked Dinara Safina, former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva and world No. 9 Vera Zvonareva.

The eight singles players can now prepare their match strategies for the round-robin phase, which begin on Tuesday, with the White and Maroon Groups allocated at the official draw ceremony on Sunday.

Serena Williams will take on elder sister Venus in the group stages of the tournament.  The sisters have been drawn in the Maroon Group, along with Russians Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina.

Serbians Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, and Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva, make up the White Group.

The Group colors are in honor of the flag of Qatar. Two players from each group will advance to the semi-finals.

Game on.