Parity continues to be the theme in this year's Road to Bali as 13 players have won the 14 International tournaments that have been contested so far. Only Victoria Azarenka has been a multiple winner - at Brisbane and Memphis - in the series of events to qualify for November's Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions. Sure enough, in the three tournaments decided in May - all on red clay - three different women hoisted championship trophies.
Anabel Medina Garrigues confirmed her No.1 seeding by taking the title in Fès with a rout of first-time Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles finalist Ekaterina Makarova. However, it wasn't a totally smooth road to her ninth career Tour singles title, as the Spaniard had to save three match points in her second round win over Klara Zakopalova.
Unseeded Yanina Wickmayer was the surprise winner in Estoril, with Makarova a runner-up for the second straight week. It was the 19-year-old Belgian's first Tour title. Another unseeded player, Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai, then captured Strasbourg, losing just one set en route to her first Tour title, including a straight set win over Lucie Hradecka in the final.
About the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
The Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions is set to debut at the Bali International Convention Centre (adjoining the Westin Resort) from November 4-8 in 2009. Featuring top Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players and next-generation champions competing in an innovative, 12-woman round robin singles format (four groups of three players), it will offer both $600,000 in prize money and an opportunity to earn a $1-million bonus.
