WUHAN, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Wuhan Open is marking International Women's Day by becoming the most prestigious professional tennis tournament to have two female tournament directors, the organizing committee of the WTA Premier 5 event announced here Thursday.
Experienced tennis professional Brenda Perry will join Li Qiuping as co-directors of Wuhan Open, which provides 2,828,000 U.S. dollars in prize, held in the central Chinese city in September each year, according to a statement from the organizing committee.
Both women are set to become the first females appointed to run a WTA Premier 5 event, joining the WTA Premier Mandatory BNP Paribas Open assistant tournament director Peggy Michel as the three most senior women running WTA Tour events.
New Zealander Perry was previously tournament director of the WTA Tour event in Auckland and has worked on the Wuhan tournament operations since its inaugural event in 2014. Wuhan-born Li is general manager of the state-owned Wuhan Sports Development Investment Co., the local operator of the Wuhan Open.
"I'm very excited to be working with Brenda as we lead our strong global team in Wuhan. We're proud that we have a big female workforce in Wuhan, including a number of women in senior management roles. We also have a high proportion of female volunteers," said Li.
"As strong supporters of women's professional tennis, Brenda and Li are sure to be an outstanding team, and we're especially proud to see the Wuhan Open appointing talented women in leadership opportunities throughout all areas of the event," said WTA Tour chief executive and chairman Steve Simon.
The 2019 Wuhan Open takes place from Sept. 22 till 28 at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center.
