2012 TEB BNP Paribas

ISTANBUL, TURKEY – The WTA’s crown jewel finale, to be held in Istanbul through 2013, will feature the world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams competing for the coveted title and a share of the $5 million in prize money.

The 2011 Championships, co-title sponsored by BNP Paribas and its Turkish partner Türk Ekonomi Bankas? (TEB), and also supported by Rolex, Turkish Airlines, Sony Xperia, Oriflame and others, were held in Istanbul for the first of three years and were a huge success, registering the highest attendance in 12 years at 87,763 fans, and setting record broadcast and digital audience milestones. The 2011 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships–Istanbul broadcast more than 500 hours of live coverage in 164 countries through 22 international TV broadcasters, the widest reach of a WTA Championships to date.

“The WTA, together with our great partners the Turkish Tennis Federation, TEB, BNP Paribas and the Ministry of Youth & Sports, set an incredible foundation in Turkey for our sport during the 2011 Championships. With our Top 10 coming from ten different countries right now, we are the most global sport for women in the world and last year’s record attendance and international broadcast reach solidified the status of our WTA Championships as a truly world class, global sporting event. Together with our players and our great partners, we look forward to setting new milestones in Istanbul later this year,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA.

Osman Tural, PTT General Manager and TTF Board Member, stated: “As Turkish Tennis Federation, we are continuing our efforts on making women’s tennis popular with every member of our management staff with the enthusiasm of achieving such a success. We believe that the support for sports and athletes must continue and our aim is make women’s tennis get the attention it deserves. This tournament has been an important step for Turkey’s bid for the 2020 Olympics candidacy. Besides these achievements, this tournament provided significant economic value for Turkey’s economy and I sincerely believe that we will be proud of this event again this year. I would like to thank our Ministry of Youth And Sports, Spor Toto Organization and Turkish people for believing in us and hope that TEB sets an example for other organizations.”

TTF President Ayda Uluç said: “As Turkish Tennis Federation, we are proud of holding one of the most prestigious tournaments in the tennis world – TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships- once again in our country. The world’s eye turned to Istanbul last year for this organization with over 37 million fans watching globally, making it the widest reach of any event in TTF’s history. And I also would like to thank Mr. Varol Civil one more time for his support which made a great contribution to the improvement of Turkish tennis.”

“We are proud to give TEB’s name to one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments, TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships–Istanbul, which has been brought to Turkey through invaluable efforts of the Ministry of Youth & Sports and Turkish Tennis Federation in 2011,” said TEB CEO Varol Civil. “It is our goal to embrace tennis through the tournament by making use of the experience of our global partner BNP Paribas, who has been supporting tennis for almost 40 years. Last year the event captured the whole world’s attention; we succeeded in increasing attention to tennis in our country and also contributed to promoting Turkey on a global level. As TEB, this year we are not only the title sponsor of the tournament, but also the main sponsor of TTF; therefore we are now holding a much greater responsibility for the development of tennis. With TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships–Istanbul, which will be organized for the second time in Turkey, we will proudly continue investing in tennis and our country’s image”.

“I am so happy to be able to be in Istanbul today to kick off the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships. Playing at the 2011 Championships, with sold out crowds every night, was an incredible feeling I will never forget. I cannot wait for the opportunity to come back this fall and hope we put on another amazing week of tennis for the great fans in Turkey,” said Agnieszka Radwanska.

“Istanbul is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and I look forward to coming back here and showing its incredible tennis fans the very best of our sport,” said Caroline Wozniacki. “Being here today definitely gives me the inspiration and motivation to work hard for the rest of the season and try my best to qualify for the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships.”

Tickets for the 2012 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships–Istanbul, as well as info about the event, are available for purchase today through Biletix – either online at www.biletix.com or at Biletix ticket counters in Turkey.

2012 TEB BNP Paribas

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