WTA Copenhagen to retain hard court surface
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Xinhua, January 3, 2012
The WTA tennis tournament in Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, has dropped plans to switch to clay courts over existing hard courts, its organizer said Monday.
"It is expensive to create three, indoor clay courts, which is needed at this level. It will cost the tournament roughly an additional 600,000 to 800,000 Danish kroner (105,000-139,000 U.S. dollars) to hold the tournament on clay," said Steen Thomsen, chairman of Nordic Sports Group, which organizes the tournament.
"So it clear, that it is sensible to save this money," he told Danish newspaper Politiken.
The 220,000-dollar event has considered switching from hard court to clay for some time now, in a bid to attract more big name tennis players.
"At the same time, we are in direct competition with an outdoor clay court event in Spain. So if a player is a clay court specialist, they will probably choose that (event) instead of ours," Thomsen said.
According to Politiken, the 2011 WTA Copenhagen attracted criticism from some players and coaches as it took place shortly before the Wimbledon grass court tournament.
That meant players participating in both events had to adapt quickly between different surfaces. But this arrangement looks likely to continue in 2012 as well.
"As it appears now, the tournament will remain fixed as a hardcourt tournament in April. But... if the WTA changes its schedule, it can also mean changes to our tournament," Thomsen told Politiken.
Women's world no.1 tennis star Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark has won the previous two editions of the WTA Copenhagen and is scheduled to play there again this year.
