Russia says new Moscow WTA tournament to launch next year
MOSCOW (AP) The Russian Tennis Federation says it will launch a new WTA tournament in Moscow next year.
The Moscow Open will run from July 23-29 on outdoor clay at the city's National Tennis Center and replace the Swedish Open in Bastad.
The federation says the dates could change because of soccer World Cup games in Moscow.
Russian organizers promise to increase the prize fund to $750,000 from $226,750 at the Swedish event this year. It will remain a WTA International-level tournament and won't offer any extra ranking points.
That would take Russia up to three WTA events next year, along with the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, usually played in January or February, and the long-running Kremlin Cup in Moscow in October. Both are played on hard courts.