The dates were changed because the Australian Open was moved and will kick-off on February 8 this season. In parallel to the event in St. Petersburg the WTA will hold its WTA 250 series tournament in Monterrey (Mexico).
-We do understand whence the changes in the calendar and we are grateful to the WTA leadership for coming up with a new tournament calendar in such a short period of time as this will make the current season more predictable than the previous one. Sure, this time around instead of a winter tournament we are going to have a spring event, but that doesn’t bother us in the least – just like the fact that a tournament in Mexico will take place in the same dates, – St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy tournament director Natalia Kamelzon noted. – Both these events are held at different continents, each tournament has its own circle of regular participants – besides, our tournament has a higher category and therefore a bigger prize money fund, so we expect to pull-off a strong lineup. The players are willing to come to St. Petersburg for they know they should anticipate a hearty welcome – not fortuitously, our tournament was named best in its category for two years in a row.
The preparation for the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2021 is already underway notwithstanding the ongoing pandemic.
Most importantly, our country managed to avoid a lockdown which we are witnessing in a number of leading European countries and in the U.S. It still makes it possible for us to host major sports events – mind you, without the mandatory quarantine upon arrival which is really important for professional athletes as all they have to do is produce a document certifying a negative COVID test – this with all due respect to strict precautions. We will tap on the unique expertise of holding the men’s tournament St. Petersburg Open 2020 which proved to be a success despite all the challenges we faced as we were vigilant to abide by a strict health protocol. We were able to overcome these challenges thanks to cohesive team work. I am sure it will also be the case this time around.
13.03-21.03
WTA 500 INTERNATIONAL TENNIS TOURNAMENT
ATP TENNIS TOURNAMENT