Asia

Singapore Sports Hub to host WTA Tour event from 2025

Featured image credit: Singapore Sports Hub

The Women’s Tennis Association will return to Singapore in 2025 after a three-year deal was agreed for a WTA 250 tournament at the Singapore Sports Hub complex.

The WTA agreed the deal with Kallang Alive Sport Management (KASM) and the 2025 tournament will be held during the week of July 27.

It will mark the WTA’s return to the Singapore Sports Hub, which hosted the WTA Finals from 2014 to 2018. The Finals were held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, but the new event will take place at the Kallang Tennis Hub, which opened in April.

The Kallang Tennis Hub features seven indoor courts, 12 outdoor courts and two junior-sized courts. The venue features a sheltered event plaza, corporate hospitality lounges and a viewing gallery.

Steve Simon, chairman and chief executive of the WTA, said: “The WTA has a rich history in Singapore having staged the WTA Finals in the region from 2014 to 2018, and we’re excited to return next season with a WTA 250 event.

“The state-of-the-art facilities coupled with players getting the chance to once again compete in front of the amazing Singapore fans will ensure the tournament is a huge success.”

Quek Swee Kuan, chief executive of KASM, added: “This WTA 250 event complements the vibrant sporting calendar at the Singapore Sports Hub and is a catalyst to further promote the sport locally and regionally.

“We aim to bring the tennis fraternity, the wider community, and our junior and national athletes together to celebrate the sport through larger-scale activations, from try-outs to friendlies, that may be held alongside the tournament. At the same time, we will look to extend support to local or regional tournaments that will foster the growth of the sport and the region’s tennis talents.”

After Singapore’s WTA Finals deal ended in 2018, the event was held in the Chinese city of Shenzhen. The event has since been held in Guadalajara, Fort Worth and Cancún, and in April it was announced that the Saudi capital of Riyadh would stage the Finals from 2024 to 2026.

In 2021, the Singapore Sports Hub’s OCBC Arena also hosted a men’s ATP 250 event, the Singapore Open.

In March, Edwin Tong, Singapore’s Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, announced plans for a new “best-in-class” arena that will replace the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The Singapore Government has owned the Singapore Sports Hub since 2022.