The season-ending Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals have been moved from China to the Mexican City of Guadalajara, the WTA stated recently.
‘The Washington Post’ stated that the tournament was supposed to be held in the Chinese City of Shenzhen in November this year. The WTA didn’t give a reason for the switch but said the event would be back in Shenzhen next year. Shenzhen first hosted the WTA Finals in the year 2019 – there was no event last year – and is due to remain host through 2030.
Florida (US)-headquartered the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women’s professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women’s tennis.
The WTA Finals is a tournament of the Women’s Tennis Association played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked professional players. The tournament predates WTA and started in 1972 as the Championship tournament of WTA Tour’s predecessor: The Virginia Slims Circuit.
‘The Washington Post’ further stated that numerous other sports events have been relocated from venues in China because of strict travel restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Delta variant of which is again surging in the East Asia country.
WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said in a statement, “We are excited to bring our showpiece tournament to the exciting and vibrant City of Guadalajara in this unique year.”
Guadalajara already held a WTA tournament this year on hard courts in March. It will be the first time the WTA Finals will be held in Mexico and the first in North America since Los Angeles (US) hosted the event in 2005.
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