Vera Zvonareva has joined the list of players who have staked a claim for a place in the season-ending Tournament of Champions, holding off a strong challenge from India’s Sania Mirza to win the PTT Pattaya Open International Series event.
The Road to Bali, launched at the start of the 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season as a season-long race to the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions this November, brought out some new faces and underwent a few changes in January.
Petra Kvitova is the latest player to put herself in contention for a place in the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Championships, winning the first major title of her career by defeating Iveta Benesova 7-5 6-1 in Hobart.
Patty Schnyder had played the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic three times before, never getting beyond the semi-finals. Now she’s the champion, after beating 17-year old Tamira Paszek 6-3 6-0.