NEWS RELEASE

November 6, 2004

SERENA WILLIAMS AND VERA ZVONAREVA SURVIVE WILD RACE FOR FINAL SPOTS IN WTA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Williams and Zvonareva round out marquee field for coveted season-ending event at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles; singles winner to receive $1 million and a Porsche to be donated to charity  

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – In a frantic chase during the final week of the WTA Tour regular season, Serena Williams and Vera Zvonareva earned the final two spots in the prestigious WTA Tour Championships presented by Porsche, adding more marquee value to an already star-studded field competing November 10-15 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Williams, who entered the week eighth in the latest Porsche Race to the Championships standings with 2,597 points, earned a place in the Championships field when contender Venus Williams lost in the Advanta Championships quarterfinals on Friday in Philadelphia, PA, ensuring that Serena will finish no lower than ninth in the final standings to be released Monday.  The ninth-placed finisher qualifies for the eight-player singles field this year because sixth-placed Justine Henin-Hardenne has withdrawn from the event due to a continuing illness.

Zvonareva, who began the week 11th in the Race standings, clinched her spot with her quarterfinal victory Friday over Jennifer Capriati in the Advanta Championships, giving her 2,447 points going into Saturday - 47 more points than ninth-place Venus (2,400) and 88 points more than 10^th-place Capriati (2,359).

Despite being limited by minor injuries, Serena Williams, 23, has performed exceptionally well this season, compiling a 36-7 match record and winning two titles (the NASDAQ-100 Open and the China Open), in addition to reaching the Wimbledon final.

Likewise, Zvonareva, 20, has made the most of her opportunities this year.  In fact, Zvonareva, one of many Russian stars who have dominated women’s tennis this season, is having the best year of her budding career.  She has a match record of 50-23 and won the Kroger St. Jude title in Memphis, TN, as well as appeared in nine Tour semifinals, including this week’s Advanta Championships.   

Serena and Zvonareva join a Championships field that includes World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, French Open champion Anastasia Myskina, recent World No.1 Amélie Mauresmo and two-time Grand Slam finalist Elena Dementieva.

This will be Serena’s third appearance in the WTA Tour Championships.  She won the Championships crown in 2001 and reached the final in 2002.  Zvonareva will be making her Championships debut after serving as a singles alternate at last year’s event.  

The top eight singles players and the top four doubles teams in the final Porsche Race to the Championships standings qualify for the prestigious Championships.  The Championships singles winner will earn $1 million in prize money and a Porsche to donate to their favorite charity.

The following are the eight singles players who will compete in the WTA Tour Championships presented by Porsche:

The following are the four doubles teams that will compete in the WTA Tour Championships: