The organizers of the recently concluded ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand are hopeful that both Serena and Venus Williams will become part of their 2015 edition, in a report published at New Zealand Herald.
At this year’s edition, which concluded on Saturday, Venus Williams finished runner-up to Ana Ivanovic. Meanwhile, Serena Williams successfully defended the Brisbane International title by defeating world number two Victoria Azarenka. Brisbane International takes place on the same week as the ASB Classic tournament.
This might be a tough challenge for the organizers considering that Brisbane International is a Premier-level tournament while ASB Classic is an International-level event that has a $250,000 prize money total. The organizers have reportedly spent a lot for appearance fees of Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic in order to take part in this event.
“It’s always a balancing act. There’s always money for a good idea. We can probably afford to go out and get both of them [Williams sisters] if I know in March and figure out how to commercialise it. If it’s done in September, you’re left with what is in your budget at the start of the year.” Tournament Director Karl Budge said.
As for the Heineken Open, an ATP 250 event that takes place after ASB Classic, Budge has been targetting top player such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to become part of the event. However, both players usually take a week off prior to the Australian Open.
