PREVIEW NOTES: QATAR TOTAL OPEN DOHA, QATAR | FEB 11 – 16, 2019 | USD $916,131 PREMIER EVENT

WTA Website: www.wtatennis.com | @WTA | facebook.com/wta Tournament Website: www.qatartennis.org | @qatartennis | facebook.com/qatartennis WTA Communications: Yanyan Xu ([email protected]), Alex Prior ([email protected]), Ellie Emerson ([email protected])

DOHA QUICK FACTS Main draw dates: Monday - Saturday, February 11–16, 2019 Singles Final: Saturday, February 16, 6:15pm Doubles Final: Saturday, February 16, 3:30pm Venue: Khalifa & Squash Complex Status: Premier event Staging: Tournament’s 17th year Draw sizes: 32 singles / 16 doubles teams / 32 singles qualifying Surface: Plexicushion Prestige / Outdoors Total prize money: USD $916,131 Tennis Ball: Wilson US Open Regular Duty 2018 Singles Final: [16] Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. [4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) 36 63 64 2018 Doubles Final: (CAN) / Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) d. [8] Andreja Klepac (SLO) / Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ESP) 63 63

PRIZE MONEY AND RANKING POINT BREAKDOWN

RANK RANK SINGLES USD $ DOUBLES USD $ POINTS POINTS Winner 158,895 470 Winner 49,700 470 Runner-Up 84,850 305 Runner-Up 26,546 305 Semifinalist 45,320 185 Semifinalist 14,510 185 Quarterfinalist 24,360 100 Quarterfinalist 7,385 100 Round of 16 13,065 55 Round of 16 4,010 1 Round of 28 8,290 1

PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS AND RUNNERS-UP

YEAR CHAMPION RUNNER-UP 2018 Petra Kvitova Garbiñe Muguruza 2017 Karolina Pliskova 2016 Carla Suárez Navarro Jelena Ostapenko 2015 Lucie Safarova 2014 Simona Halep Angelique Kerber 2013 Victoria Azarenka 2012 Victoria Azarenka Samantha Stosur

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PREVIEW NOTES: QATAR TOTAL OPEN DOHA, QATAR | FEB 11 – 16, 2019 | USD $916,131 PREMIER EVENT

MAIN DRAW QUICK HITS (excludes qualifiers)

Singles wildcards: (TUN), Fatma Al-Nabhani (OMA), (UKR), Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) Youngest singles player: Jelena Ostapenko, 21-years-old (June 8, 1997) Oldest singles player: Su-Wei Hsieh, 33-years-old (January 4, 19) Singles withdrawals: Madison Keys (change of schedule – Fed Cup), (back injury), Qiang Wang (right hip injury) Main draw debutantes: (AUS), (ITA), Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)

TOURNAMENT TALKING POINTS

• Top seed and former champion Simona Halep will look to get back on track this week in Doha with newly appointed coach Thierry Van Cleemput now in her corner • This year’s Aces leader (96) is coming in hot, fresh off her title run in St. Petersburg • Three former champions (Pliskova, Suarez Navarro and Halep) and three former runner-ups (Wozniacki, Ostapenko and Kerber) are contesting this year’s draw • Top 10 Watch – Should and Ashleigh Barty have deeps runs this week, both would better their chances of making their Top 10 debut • One To Watch – Camila Giorgi. The 27-year-old has enjoyed a career resurgence since the fall of 2018, cracking back into the Top 30 and reaching a new career-high singles ranking of No.26 in October 2018. The Italian has been a tough customer for many, seldom losing to players ranked lower than her since since last fall - reaching the semifinals in Tokyo (l. Osaka), champion in Linz, Round of 16 in Sydney (l. Kerber) and Round of 32 in Melbourne (l. Pliskova)

COUNTRY BREAKDOWN

Excluding qualifiers, a total of 18 countries are represented in the main draw, led by Czech Republic with three players:

Australia (1) Ashleigh Barty Belgium (1) Elise Mertens (1) Aliaksandra Sasnovich Croatia (1) Petra Martic Czech Republic (3) Karolina Pliskova, Katerina Siniakova, Barbora Strycova Denmark (1) Caroline Wozniacki Estonia (1) France (1) Germany (2) Julia Goerges, Angelique Kerber Italy (1) Camila Giorgi Latvia (2) Jelena Ostapenko, Anastasija Sevastova Netherlands (1) Kiki Bertens Oman (1) Fatma Al-Nabhani Romania (2) Mihaela Buzarnescu, Simona Halep Spain (1) Carla Suarez Navarro Taipei (1) Su-Wei Hsieh Tunisia (1) Ons Jabeur Ukraine (2) Elina Svitolina, Lesia Tsurenko

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