Diamond Games
| Diamond Games | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament information | |
| Founded | 2002–2009, 2015 |
| Location |
Antwerp Belgium |
| Venue | Sportpaleis Merksem |
| Category |
Tier II (2002–2009) WTA Premier (2015) |
| Surface | Hard (indoors) |
| Draw | 28S/32Q/16D |
| Prize money | $731,000 |
| Website | Sport.be |
The Diamond Games (sponsored in 2015 as BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games and formerly known as Proximus Diamond Games, GDF-Suez Diamond Games and Thomas Cook Diamond Games) was a professional women's tennis tournament organised in Antwerp, Belgium. The tournament took place in the Sportpaleis, at the beginning of February.
In 2009, with the restructuring of the WTA tour and the retirement of both Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, the tournament lost its status of being a WTA tour tournament and evolved into an annual exhibition tennis event before returning to the WTA calendar in 2015.[1] Later this year, however, WTA announced that in 2016, The Diamond Games would be replaced on the WTA Calendar with a new tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia.[2]
The Diamond Games offers a trophy to any player who wins the singles three times in five years. In 2007 Amélie Mauresmo won a golden racquet decorated with diamonds.[3] A new trophy was unveiled in 2008, which featured a golden racquet and a ball, and was decorated with 2008 diamonds.[4]
Past finals
Singles
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ Tier II tournament ↓ | |||
| 2002 |  Venus Williams | .svg.png){kind=small} Justine Henin | 6–3, 5–7, 6–3 |
| 2003 | Venus Williams (2) | Kim Clijsters | 6–2, 6–4 |
| 2004 | Kim Clijsters |  Silvia Farina Elia | 6–3, 6–0 |
| 2005 |  Amélie Mauresmo | Venus Williams | 4–6, 7–5, 6–4 |
| 2006 | Amélie Mauresmo (2) | Kim Clijsters | 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 2007 | Amélie Mauresmo (3) | Kim Clijsters | 6–4, 7–6(7–4) |
| 2008 | Justine Henin | Karin Knapp | 6–3, 6–3 |
| 2009–14 | Only exhibition tournaments held | ||
| ↓ Premier tournament ↓ | |||
| 2015 |  Andrea Petkovic |  Carla Suárez Navarro | Walkover |
Doubles
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ Tier II tournament ↓ | |||
| 2002 |  Magdalena Maleeva  Patty Schnyder | Nathalie Dechy Meilen Tu | 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3 |
| 2003 | Kim Clijsters  Ai Sugiyama | Nathalie Dechy Émilie Loit | 6–2, 6–0 |
| 2004 |  Cara Black Els Callens | Myriam Casanova  Eleni Daniilidou | 6–2, 6–1 |
| 2005 | Cara Black (2) Els Callens (2) | Anabel Medina  Dinara Safina | 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 2006 | Dinara Safina  Katarina Srebotnik | Stéphanie Foretz  Michaëlla Krajicek | 6–1, 6–1 |
| 2007 | Cara Black (2) Liezel Huber | Elena Likhovtseva Elena Vesnina | 7–5, 4–6, 6–1 |
| 2008 | Cara Black (4) Liezel Huber (2) |  Květa Peschke Ai Sugiyama | 6–1, 6–3 |
| 2009–14 | Only exhibition tournaments held | ||
| ↓ Premier tournament ↓ | |||
| 2015 | Anabel Medina Garrigues Arantxa Parra Santonja | An-Sophie Mestach Alison Van Uytvanck | 6–4, 3–6, [10–5] |
References
- ↑ "WTA Event In Antwerp Will Be Replaced With New Tournament In St. Petersburg". Vavel. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
- ↑ "WTA Heads to St. Petersburg in 2016". Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Retrieved 2015-09-26.
- ↑ "Amelie's diamond day". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
- ↑ "The custom tennis racquet money can't buy". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Proximus Diamond Games. |