DOHA, Qatar - The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has awarded Elena Dementieva the ACES Award for the 2009 season. The ACES Award is given to the player who consistently goes above and beyond to promote the sport of women's tennis to fans, media and local communities by performing off-court promotional and charitable activities.
"I am really pleased to have won this award," Dementieva said. "Being a professional tennis player is about a lot more than hitting tennis balls across the net. We have a responsibility to promote women's tennis and to personally connect with fans, sponsors and media in order to grow the sport I love. I am lucky that so many of the off-court activities on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour are incredibly fun and adventurous. Such promotions as Sony Ericsson led 'Fountain Tennis' in Cincinnati or 'Underground Tennis' in Madrid are some of my most memorable experiences from this season."
"Elena is not only one of the world's best tennis players, she is extremely bright, thoughtful, has a savvy business acumen, and is a terrific ambassador for women's tennis," said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the Tour. "Elena is a respected and admired athlete, possessing sharp intelligence and an understanding of importance of connecting the sport with media and sponsors. It is because of athletes like Elena that the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has come so far so fast."
"Elena has taken time out of her schedule and made a significant effort to promote women's tennis this year and it is my great pleasure to present her with the ACES Award during the Sony Ericsson Championships," said Aldo Liguori, Corporate Vice President and Head of Global Communications & PR for Sony Ericsson. "It's great to see that the players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour are committed to promoting the sport and I would like to recognize their passion toward making it more accessible to fans around the world."
This year marked the third season in a row that a point weighted system was used to award each of the off-court activities performed by players at Tour events. The following is a breakdown of the Top 10 players who amassed the most points during the 2009 season for ACES activities:
1. 400 - Elena Dementieva
2. 335 - Serena Williams
335 - Dinara Safina
4. 325 - Caroline Wozniacki
5. 280 - Jelena Jankovic
6. 260 - Ana Ivanovic
7. 240 - Nadia Petrova
8. 230 - Vera Zvonareva
9. 215 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
10. 205 - Venus Williams
The ACES Award was first introduced in 1995, in memory of former Tour CEO Jerry Diamond. Since then, nine players have won the award, including Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, Gabriela Sabatini, Amanda Coetzer, Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis, Anastasia Myskina, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic.
