Jakarta - The “Road to Bali” just grew narrower for the world’s top women players after organizers decided to reduce the number of players at this year’s Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions.
Kevin Livesey, the tournament’s director, said the decision to cut down the roster from 12 players to eight — the same number as in the Doha championships a week before Bali — was made upon the request of the Women’s Tennis Association.
The association will announce the season’s rankings on Oct. 25, and six of the highest-ranked players who will not compete at the WTA Tour Championship in Doha will be eligible to compete at the Bali International Convention Center in Nusa Dua from Nov. 4-7.
The six players, along with two wild cards, must also have won an International Series event to qualify for the $600,000 extravaganza.
“The reason is that by the end of the year, lots of players are carrying injuries and feeling tired, so fewer players are available to play in Bali,” Livesey said on Tuesday.
“We want to get the right players playing in the right tournaments,” he said. Livesey said he was not worried that the tournament would fail to attract audiences, despite reducing the number of players.
Organizers are banking on wild cards Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia to draw a crowd.
Ivanovic will be back after her 2006 debut, while Hantuchova will mark her fourth time at the Bali competition.
In 2008, Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam at the French Open and ascended to the world No. 1 spot, although she had been struggling with a persistent knee injury since 2007.
Hantuchova has fond memories of the resort island after reaching the final of the Wismilak International in 2007 and the semifinal the following year.
The event promises to be more exciting since the round-robin format used last year has been replaced by a straight knockout.
Top players such as Li Na, Maria Sharapova and defending champion Aravane Rezai are among those who have qualified to compete in Bali.
But the remaining three International Series tournaments in Linz, Osaka and Luxembourg this month could still produce new qualifiers. (Ami Afriatni)
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com