| DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) - World number one
Martina Hingis will play in Dubai in February when the WTA Tour stages
its first tournament in the Middle East.
The $600,000 event from February 19 to 24 will also feature Mary Pierce,
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Amelie Mauresmo.
``The top men players have been coming to Dubai since 1993, when we
organized the first ATP Dubai Open,'' said Colm McLoughlin, managing director
of the owners and organizers of the championships, Thursday.
``This year, with the arrival of the first WTA Tour event in Dubai,
the emirate will host back-to-back women's and men's tournaments for the
first time.''
Dubai has played host to an ITF women's event for players ranked 100
and below, but this is the first time the emirate has been allotted a fully-fledged
WTA Tour event.
In the $1 million men's event the following week, Russia's Marat Safin,
the U.S. Open champion, will face Olympic champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov,
Magnus Norman of Sweden, and last year's winner Nicolas Kiefer of Germany.
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