WTA Tour returns to Waikoloa Sept. 7-15

Advertiser Staff

The Sanex WTA Tour will return to Hawai'i Sept. 7-15 for the Big Island Championship, at Hilton Waikoloa.

Sandrine Testud won the inaugural Championship last year, defeating top-seeded Justine Henin in the final of the $140,000 event.

"We had a great field last year headlined by Justine Henin, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Sandrine Testud and Lisa Raymond, and we're looking to match it this year," said Big Island Championships tournament director Eric Kutner. "It didn't take long for the event to become a player favorite."

The event will again feature a 32-player singles field and a 16-team doubles field with qualifying draws for both. The qualifying draws will be Sept. 7 and 8, followed by main draws Sept. 9 to 15.

The preliminary commitment list, released by the WTA Tour, includes Barbara Schett, Elena Likhovtseva and Raymond.

Schett, with three career WTA Tour singles titles, reached a career-high world ranking of No. 7 in 1999. She has vacationed and trained at Hilton Waikoloa Village in the past.

Likhovtseva, with two career WTA Tour singles titles, reached a career-high of 15 in 2000. She is also one of the top doubles players in the world, and just won the mixed doubles at Wimbledon.

Raymond, a Big Island Championships semifinalist in 2001, is the top doubles player in the world and has spent much of her career as a top-20 singles player. She has three career WTA Tour singles and 34 career doubles titles.

Big Island Championship tickets will be available later this month from Ticket Plus. For more information, call (518) 274-1674 on the Mainland or visit tesports.com.

Hilton Waikoloa Village is putting together special room rates and packages for the event. For more information, call Hilton Waikoloa Village at 886-1234 or visit hiltonwaikoloavillage.com.