QATAR. Qatar Airways and Qatar Duty Free (QDF) have continued their strong support for elite sport by sponsoring the prestigious Qatar Total Open 2021 tennis tournament. The event, which officially started today (1 March), is being held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha. It will culminate on Saturday.
One of the new entrants in the women’s tournament is Tunisian tennis superstar Ons Jabeur, who is the first Arab woman to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament. She is also the highest-placed Arab player in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings and a wildcard in the Qatar Total Open 2021.
Other notable female tennis athletes to compete are Victoria Azarenka, who is two-time tournament champion and ranked 14 in the world; Karolina Pliskova who won the tournament in 2016 and is ranked sixth in the world; and Elina Svitolina who is the tournament’s top seed and is ranked fifth in the world. Six of the top ten Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) superstars are competing at the high-profile sporting event.
The tournament will have a total prize purse of US$565,530. It will see a total of 32 players compete in four qualifiers and battle their way up to the crowning singles event. In addition, 16 teams will compete for top honours in the doubles category.
“Tennis is one of the cornerstones of the annual Qatari sports calendar, and we look forward with anticipation to welcoming these world-class players to Doha,” commented Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Marketing and Corporate Communications Salam Al Shawa. “Women’s tennis is an integral part of Qatar Airways’ extensive sports sponsorship portfolio with the stated aim of making the nation a hub for sports across the region and worldwide.”
Qatar Duty Free Vice President Operations Thabet Musleh added, “Qatar Duty Free has sponsored the Qatar Total Open Tennis Tournament since 2012 and we are proud to once again be a key partner to one of the world-renowned annual sporting events taking place in Doha.
“Sports has the power to connect people together, physically and virtually. Despite the challenges faced by the travel retail industry across the past year, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was more important than ever for Qatar Duty Free to extend our partnership to the 2021 tournament. We are thrilled to be part of this unforgettable and exciting experience and to welcome some of the world’s leading female tennis players to Qatar. We wish them the best of luck.”
Qatar Airways is an official partner of sporting association FIFA and has sponsored mega sporting events such as the 2019 and 2020 editions of the FIFA Club World Cup. The airline is also sponsoring the FIFA World Cup Qatar in 2022. It will also be the official airline sponsor for UEFA Euro 2020, scheduled for 11 June to 11 July 2021, and is the official retail sponsor for this year’s Qatar ExxonMobil Open and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters Golf Tournament.
Qatar Airways is also the proud sponsor of some of the world’s leading football clubs including Paris Saint-Germain, AS Roma, Boca Juniors, FC Bayern München, K.A.S. Eupen and Al Sadd SC.
