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WTA Bids Farewell to Holding Its Season Finale In Indonesia
Sandy Pramuji | June 27, 2011

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Serigala-Berbulu-Domba
10:41am Jun 28, 2011

Gayus seemed pretty keen on this event last time around, although being a very modest individual, he attended this event wearing a disguise, in order to avoid any unecessary attention. The Bali Tournament Director should contact Gayus to see if he is willing and able to sponsor the holding of such event in 2012 in Bali, before throwing in the towel.

blightyboy
8:29am Jun 28, 2011

While watching Wimbledon tennis last night on the TV my wife commented, "why is there not one Indonesian tennis player on the international circuit"? I thought, why is there not one Indonesian sportsperson, apart from badminton players, in the World class sports arena? Out of a bank of more than a quarter of a billion people, not one notable sports person. How can that be? Is there any other country that has such a negative participation in sport? People can feel proud of their country through sporting achievements, and God knows Indonesians need to gain some pride about something.

Now Bali loses Indonesia's one single international sports hosting, because there is no sponsor? Its not as if the country is lacking rich people as possible sponsors is it. Indonesia has billionaires by the score, are there none that have pride in their country? And where is the minister for sports, the minister for tourism? What is it that these guys are responsible for if not exactly this?

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Indonesia is set to lose its only Women’s Tennis Association event after organizers revealed they could not find more sponsors for the Tournament of Champions.

The tournament, which has taken place in Bali since 2009, will be played for the final time in the country’s premier tourist destination from Nov. 2-6 before it moves to Bulgaria, the WTA announced on Saturday.

Kevin Livesey, the Bali tournament’s director, told the Jakarta Globe on Monday that there was an option to extend the contract beyond this year.

However, Livesey said the tournament’s main sponsor, Commonwealth Bank, decided not to renew the deal it had signed for 2009 to 2011.

He said there were plans “to look at other options and hopefully forge new partnerships with sponsors to bring the tournament back to the country.”

“This event has put Bali and Indonesia on the map of international tennis,” he said.

“In fact, the Bali tournament has been voted by the players as their favorite tournament on the WTA [in 2010]. We would love to bring the tournament back to Bali.”

With the tournament moving to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, the WTA will hold its first official event in that country in 22 years.

“It will be a very good opportunity for promoting our wonderful city and country as a first-class tourist and business destination,” said Stefan Tzvetkov, president of the Bulgarian Tennis Federation and the tournament’s director.

The tournament is the WTA’s season-ending event, which features eight of the top players on the women’s tour.

To qualify, six of the players need to have won at least one title during the season but not be participating at the WTA Championships. The other two players receive wild cards.

Aravane Rezai of France won the inaugural tournament in 2009, while Ana Ivanovic of Serbia triumphed last year.

Every match at the Bali International Convention Center in Nusa Dua was packed with spectators in the last two years, proof of the tournament’s drawing power.

Even controversial tax official Gayus Tambunan, who is now serving a 10-year prison sentence for corruption, could not resist attending the semifinal match between Ivanovic and Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm last year.

At the time, Gayus was supposed to be detained in a prison facility by the police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) while being tried for corruption, but he somehow found a way to escape from his cell and watch the match.

Jurnasyanto Sukarno, the Jakarta Globe’s chief photographer, caught Gayus in disguise among the spectators.