480% increase in the “Dubai Tennis” awards for women since its inception in 2001

Salah Tahlak, CEO of joint operations at Dubai Duty Free and director of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Tournaments, revealed an increase of 480% in the prize money for the women’s championship for professional players since its inception in 2001, and the curtain falls today on its 23rd edition, with prizes of $ 2.9 million. , classified within the 1000-point tournaments.

Tahlak told “Emirates Today”: “The women’s championship has witnessed distinguished growth over the years in hosting the most famous yellow ball stars in the world, in the same way due to the presence of the best nine players from the first 10 ranks and 17 players from the top 20 in the world in the current version, in successes Since the inception of the first edition of the professional players in 2001, the Dubai Championship has been able to rise in the rankings in terms of points awarded to the crowns from 500 to 1000 points, which came in parallel with an increase in the amount of financial prizes over the 23 years of the tournament’s life, by 480%.

He explained, “The women’s championship was launched in 2001 with a total of $560,000 in prizes, including $90,000 for the title winner, bringing the total prizes over the past years to $2.9 million in the current version.”

He added: «The success of the tournament reflects positively on its prestige and reputation, as the players in the men’s tournament or the players in the women’s tournament always talk about their experience in Dubai, and share the splendor of the competitive and comfortable atmosphere that we always strive as an organizer to provide, and they also praise the treatment and support they receive. With them here in Dubai, the women’s tournament has come a long way since the crowning of Swiss legend Martina Hingis with the title of the inaugural edition in 2001, which contributed to the successes in establishing the position of (Dubai Tennis) for women on the agenda of the WTA tournaments for the category of 1000 points, among a distinguished group of 10 Ranked tournaments at the highest level of the WTA Tour.

And he continued: «We get continuous support from the WTA and all our partners, which allowed us to significantly increase the total prize pool, including, for example, the 51% increase from the last time (Tennis Dubai) was among the 1000-point WTA tournaments. The 2021 edition, whose prizes amounted to $1.8 million, compared to $2.9 million in the 2023 edition.

89 minutes brings Chivontec closer to “Dallah Dubai”

World number one Polish Iga Schwijontek is close to achieving the dream of raising “Dallah Dubai”, after she is one step away from crowning her first title in history in the “Dubai Tennis” championships for women, which have been held since last Saturday on the “Dubai Duty Free” courts in the Garhoud area in Dubai, and the curtain falls on it this evening as part of the Professional Women’s Players Association series of 1000 points, with a total prize pool of $ 2.9 million.

And Polish Chviwontec succeeded in reserving her seat to the final of the 23rd edition of “Dubai Tennis” for women, by defeating American Coco Goff, ranked sixth in the world, by two sets without a response, in a match that was limited to 89 minutes, and was held at the main stadium in the “Dubai Duty Free” courts. .

Chivontec’s attempt to win the “Dubai Tennis” title is her third in a row, after she was bid farewell to last year’s edition of the second round against Latvian Elena Astapenko, and preceded her in 2021 by exiting the third round.

Iga needed 52 minutes to win the first set (6-4), before her American opponent, Gauff, collapsed in the second set, opening the way for the world number one to win the second set in 37 minutes, with a score (6-2).

World number one Chivontec will meet in the final today, Czech beauty Barbora Kreuchkova, ranked 30 in the world, after Kreuchkova succeeded in eliminating world number three, American Jesca Pegula, with the Czech victory in two sets for one set (6-1, 5-7, 6-0).