Sofia to Host WTA Tournament of Champions First Time

She rose to rank fourth in the world in 1996, at a time when Bulgarian sport was on something of a high. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria's capital Sofia will host the Tournament of the Champions for the first time October 30-November 4, a chance for tennis fans enjoy some of the world's elite players.

The former No. 4 in the WTA World rankings Magdalena Maleeva, who was the last Bulgarian who played the WTA Championships, hopes the event will stir great interest.

"I hope so although I am not sure that all the players are well-known in Bulgaria. Fingers crossed for a full house during the matches of Tsvetana Pironkova," Maggie said in an interview for the official site of the tournament, referring to Bulgaria's current best female tennis player, who will also feature in the event.

"Tsveti is already an experienced player and probably does not need any advice. This time she will play at home and it is a different story. The crowd support is an advantage but if you lose, comes the unpleasant task to deal with all the hard stuff in the media," Maleeva said.

Asked what makes The Championships different from the other Tour stops, Maleeva said this is a great reward for the efforts over the whole year.

"I will be happy if Ana Ivanovic comes. In my last year on the tour we used to practice together and I feel a lot of sympathy toward her."

The 2012 WTA Tournament of Champions is a singles-only tennis tournament that will be played on indoor hard courts in Sofia. It is the fourth edition of the tournament and is part of the 2012 WTA Tour.

The 2012 edition is the first to be held in Sofia, having been relocated from Bali, where the tournament was held for the previous three years and called the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions.

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