Former world number one Kim Clijsters, who retired from professional tennis a couple of years ago, will be embarking on a new role in the sport. The Belgian will become the Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games tournament, a Premier-level indoor event which will be marking its return to the WTA calendar in 2005 beginning the week of February 9.
“After seven years, world class tennis is coming back to Antwerp,” she said. “The new BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games will not only become a high-level tennis event, but much more than that.”
The tournament has a unique tradition and this will be back once more. The much-coveted diamond racquet will be given to the player who wins the tournament twice in a span of three years. The special racquet is made out of 4.5 kilograms of gold and 2008 diamonds. This racquet is worth $1.5 million.
“Believe me, that makes this tournament particularly attractive for the female tennis players!” Clijsters said about the coveted diamond racquet memento. “Our first goal is to set up the strongest possible competition, including some of the biggest stars in tennis and several players from the Top 20.”
“A trophy like this is a serious boost to achieve these ambitions.”
The Fortis Diamond Games ran from 2002 and 2009. The condition at that time is that the racquet is given to a player who has won the title three times in the span of five years. This feat was achieved by former top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo who won the event from 2005 to 2007.
The tournament is currently running a promotion wherein every 100th person who buys tickets online at their website will get a 10 carat diamond.
