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News Release

Saturday, October 1, 2011

KVITOVA, AZARENKA AND DOUBLES TEAM OF HUBER AND RAYMOND QUALIFY FOR TEB–BNP PARIBAS WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS

· Kvitova makes Championships debut

· Azarenka returns for third successive year

· US Open champions Huber and Raymond win Tokyo title to qualify

TOKYO, JAPAN – Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka and the double team of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond have qualified for the prestigious TEB-BNP Paribas WTA Championships, which will be hosted at the state of the art Sinan Erdem Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. These WTA stars join World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova and the doubles team of Kveta Peschke/Katarina Srebotnik who already secured their trip to Istanbul.

The WTA’s year-end finale, to be held in Istanbul through 2013, will feature the world’s top eight singles players and top four doubles teams competing for the coveted title and a share of the $5 million in prize money. The WTA is working closely with partner Turkish Tennis Federation to ensure that this season’s year-end finale in Istanbul is the best in its history.

“Congratulations to Petra, Victoria, Liezel and Lisa on qualifying for the TEB-BNP Paribas WTA Championships. All of these players had terrific seasons with historic achievements and numerous accolades and a trip to Istanbul is a great way to end a memorable year,” said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the WTA.

Petra Kvitova:

“I’ve had a great year so far and I’m so happy to be able to qualify for the Championships,” Kvitova said. “My game has really come a long way this year – mentally, technically, and tactically – I can’t point to one thing that has made the difference. Obviously this will be my first time at the Championships and I don’t know really what to expect, but I’m looking forward to playing indoors on hard court, which is my favorite surface.”

In a career-best season for the 21-year-old Czech, she defeated Maria Sharapova to win her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and become the youngest major title winner in more than three years. She also captured titles at the Brisbane International, the Open GDF SUEZ (Paris) and the Mutua Madrid Open. Kvitova is expected to make her Top 5 debut next week after reaching the semifinals of Toray PPO Tennis (Tokyo). Jana Novotna was the last Czech to compete in singles at the Championships in 1998.

Victoria Azarenka:

“At the start of the year, reaching the Championships is one of the goals you’re aiming for and so I’m really happy to be playing there. I’ve already been to Istanbul to see the site, so I’m excited that I’ve managed to qualify and get back there to play. I think it’s one of the hardest events because you have to play right away against the top players, there’s no match where you can get comfortable,” said Azarenka.

After capturing back to back titles at the Sony Ericsson Open (Miami) and the Andalucía Tennis Experience (Marbella), and finishing as a runner-up at the Mutua Madrid Open and reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon, Azarenka has risen to a career-best ranking of World No.3, the highest singles ranking ever achieved by a Belarusian. 2011 will mark the 22-year-old’s third successive appearance at the Championships, where she is yet to advance past the round-robin stage. Azarenka is also in the running to qualify for the doubles competition with partner Maria Kirilenko of Russia.

Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond:

“We were so excited to hear that we qualified for the Championships after winning the title in Tokyo today. All this hard work over the last couple of months has paid off. For Liezel and me, to have another chance at playing this tournament is something we’re really looking forward to,” said Raymond.

Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond are two of the WTA’s most decorated doubles players. In the first year as a team, they have reached five finals this year and captured three titles: US Open, the Rogers Cup (Toronto) and the Toray PPO Tennis (Tokyo). Between them, Huber and Raymond own 120 doubles titles, including 11 Grand Slams. Huber, the doubles World No.1, will be making her fifth appearance at the year-end finale. The 35-year-old American is a two-time winner of the Championships, having won in 2007 and 2008 with Cara Black. Raymond, aged 38, returns to the Championships for the 11th time in her career, having first qualified in 1994. She has won the title three times: in 2001 with Rennae Stubbs, and in 2005 and 2006 with Samantha Stosur.

RACE TO THE TEB BNP PARIBAS WTA CHAMPIONSHIPS (as of October 1, 2011)

PLAYER POINTS RACE STANDING

Caroline Wozniacki* 7145 1
Maria Sharapova* 6370 2
Petra Kvitova* 5686 3
Victoria Azarenka* 5450 4
Li Na 5346 5
Vera Zvonareva 5050 6
Samantha Stosur 4895 7
Marion Bartoli 4315 8
Agnieszka Radwanska 3940 9
Andrea Petkovic 3880 10
Francesca Schiavone 3820 11

TEAM POINTS RACE STANDING

Peschke/Srebotnik* 8291 1
Huber/Raymond* 6323 2
Azarenka/Kirilenko 5350 3
King/Shvedova 5080 4
Dulko/Pennetta 5006 5
Mirza/Vesnina 4781 6

*Denotes player/team has already qualified

About the WTA:

The WTA is the global leader in women’s professional sport with more than 2,400 players representing 99 nations competing for more than $87 million in prize money at the WTA’s 53 events and four Grand Slams in 33 countries. More than 5 million people attended women’s tennis events in 2010 with tens of millions more watching on television and digital channels around the world. The WTA competitive season concludes with the WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey from October 25-30, and the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali, Indonesia, from November 3-6. Further information on the WTA can be found on www.wtatennis.com.

About BNP Paribas:

BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is one of the strongest banks in the world*. The Group has a presence in more than 80 countries and more than 200,000 employees, including more than 160,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across the Europe-Mediterranean zone and boasts a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia.
* Rated AA by Standard & Poor's i.e. 3rd rating level on a scale of 22.

About Türk Ekonomi Bankası (TEB):

Türk Ekonomi Bankası (TEB), a reputable and prestigious institution in the Turkish banking sector, was established in 1927. Since its establishment, TEB, with its expanded network of branches and a diversified range of products and services, pursues operating in various fields of the banking sector as investment, leasing, factoring and portfolio management. In February 2005, BNP Paribas, one of the top 10 most important banks in the world and the largest in the Euro zone, operating in 85 countries, became a partner of TEB which went public in February 2000. In the wake of its partnership with the BNP Paribas, Türk Ekonomi Bankası carries its expertise in foreign trade, corporate, commercial and private banking over into the fields of retail banking and banking for small and medium-sized businesses. Following the merger between TEB and Fortis, New TEB embarked on its ‘New Life’ starting on the 21st of March 2010, as Turkey’s 6th largest private bank with an asset size of 31.2 billion TL and more than 10,000 employees. New TEB also has become Turkey’s fifth private bank in terms of network coverage with more than 600 branches and 1,000 ATMs.

About BNP Paribas and Tennis:

Long-standing partner to the sport of tennis since 1973, BNP Paribas is actively involved in the game at both local and international level, and in club, schools and social tennis as well as professional events. BNP Paribas has gradually become the number one sponsor in world tennis: official sponsor of Roland Garros since 1973 and sponsor of five ATP Masters 1000 events - the BNP Paribas Masters since 1986, Monte Carlo Masters since 2005, Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome since 2006, BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells since 2009 and the Shanghai Masters since 2010. The Group is also title sponsor of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas since 2001 and the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas since 2005, as well as being actively involved in many other international competitions including the Bank of the West Classic in California, the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, the Open 13 in Marseille and the BNP Paribas Showdown in New York. BNP Paribas is also an official partner of International Wheelchair Tennis, such as the the “BNP Paribas World Team Cup”. Through its support for more than 20 national tennis associations, 2000 clubs, 550 amateur tournaments, plus schools and social programmes around the world, BNP Paribas helps to promote tennis and encourage widespread participation in the game. The Group's commitment to social values is reflected in the sports sponsorships it has undertaken in numerous projects, including Yannick Noah's ‘Fête le Mur’ Association and the tennis Téléthon in France, the Oberer Tennis Camp in Switzerland and the BNP Paribas ‘Taste of Tennis’ in the United States. As part of its creative sports sponsorship policy, BNP Paribas is launching a website “ wearetennis.com “ entirely dedicated to tennis news. The Group’s new sponsorship slogan ‘We are tennis’ underlines the fact that BNP Paribas promotes tennis for all, at all levels.