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Tournament Facts

The Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2008 is the season-ending event of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season. The Top 8 singles players and Top 4 doubles teams in the Race to Doha are invited to compete based on results throughout the 2008 season.

COMPETITORS
The singles competitors are (listed in order of qualification):
1. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
2. Dinara Safina (RUS)
3. Serena Williams (USA)
4. Elena Dementieva (RUS)
5. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
6. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
7. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
8. Venus Williams (USA)

Note: Two Alternates will also be in Doha to replace any of the above eight singles players should they be unable to compete. The first Alternate is Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) and the second Alternate is Nadia Petrova (RUS); they are required to be on stand-by through the completion of the round-robin portion.

The doubles teams are (listed in order of qualification):
1. Cara Black / Liezel Huber (ZIM/USA)
2. Anabel Medina Garrigues / Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP/ESP)
3. Kveta Peschke / Rennae Stubbs (CZE/AUS)
4. Ai Sugiyama / Katarina Srebotnik (JPN/SLO)

PRIZE MONEY
Total prize money for the Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2008 is US$4.55 million, awarded as follows:

Singles (all amounts in USD)
Winner*: $1,340,000
Runner-up*: $715,000
Round Robin (3 wins): $400,000
Round Robin (2 wins): $300,000
Round Robin (1 win): $200,000
Round Robin (no wins): $100,000
Alternate: $50,000
(* Prize money if undefeated)

Doubles (per team; (all amounts in USD)
Winner: $375,000
Runners-up: $187,500
Semifinalists: $93,750

FORMAT
The singles event at the Sony Ericsson Championships, which features eight players, begins as a round robin event, with four players in each pool (White and Maroon, the colors of the Qatari flag). Over the first four days of competition, each player meets the other three players in their pool, with the Top 2 in each pool of four moving on to the semifinals. The first-placed player in the White Group meets the second-placed player in the Maroon Group, and vice versa. The winners of each semifinal meet in the championship match.

The doubles event at the Sony Ericsson Championships, which features four teams, is a single elimination draw, beginning with the semifinal round.

LOCATION
The Sony Ericsson Championships will be held at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar in 2008, 2009 and 2010, with Istanbul, Turkey set to host the event in 2011, 2012 and 2013.