Germany’s Angelique Kerber has officially qualified for the WTA Championships 2013 Istanbul after she reached the quarterfinals of the Generali Ladies Linz on Friday. Kerber secured the eighth and final spot in this prestigious event.
The WTA Championships 2013 takes place in Istanbul from October 22 to 27.
This is the second year in a row that the participants at this 42-year old event features players representing a different country: Serena Williams (United States), Victoria Azarenka (Belarus), Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland), Li Na (China), Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic), Sara Errani (Italy), Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) and Angelique Kerber (Germany).
The draws for the event will take place on October 20, Sunday at 6pm and can be viewed live online via WTA Tour’s website. The two alternative positions will be known once the tournaments in Moscow and Luxembourg have concluded.
The top eight singles players and top four doubles teams will compete for a record-setting $6 million in prize money.
“Congratulations to Angelique on her qualification for the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships – Istanbul. She will be a great addition to this year’s player field,”
said WTA Chairman & CEO Stacey Allaster. “If Istanbul’s debut staging of the Championships was stunning, last year’s was even better, and I have no doubt the best will be saved for last. This has truly been a People’s Championships and our players are ready to show their best tennis in front of the amazing Turkish fans for the third and final time.”
“I’m so excited to be returning to Istanbul for the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships. The fans last year were amazing and I look forward for the chance to play against the best players in the world,” Kerber said.
The doubles field have been determined with Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei, Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik, and Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina qualifying.
