It’s a Million-to-One Event

An attention-grabbing winners’ purse and a revised format are among the changes being made for the season-ending WTA Championships, Nov. 5-10, at Staples Center, it was announced Tuesday.

The singles winner will receive a record $1 million. Last year’s champion, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, made $765,000. In 2002, the most lucrative winnings for a female winner came at the U.S. Open, when Serena Williams received $900,000.

Total prize money for the championships will remain at $3 million. Home Depot, which was the title sponsor last year, is in negotiations with the tour for future involvement, officials said.

The event will move from a 16-player, single-elimination format to an eight-player, round-robin arrangement. There will be two groups of four players, and the two with the best record in each group will move on to single elimination in the semifinals. This format has been used for the men’s season-ending tournament, the Tennis Masters Cup.

The initial tournament at Staples Center was heavily criticized for its lack of promotion, and attendance, particularly in the weekday afternoon sessions, was embarrassingly sparse. Players such as Clijsters played in the cavernous arena in front of a few hundred spectators, if that, giving the event a small-time feel.

Officials are hoping the elimination of the afternoon sessions and the revised format will help alleviate some of those concerns, as fans will get to see a player at least three times. As of Monday, the top eight players in the race to the championships -- which differs from the rankings -- are Serena Williams, Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, Elena Bovina of Russia, Meghann Shaughnessy and Chanda Rubin.

“Our new format ensures that fans will be treated to the absolute biggest names and best rivalries that the WTA Tour has to offer,” said Josh Ripple, the WTA’s acting president and chief operating officer.

Additionally, the doubles field has been curtailed. Instead of an eight-team field, there will be only four, competing in a single-elimination format. The winning team will share $250,000.

These changes will be the first of many to the event, according to Anschutz Entertainment Group officials, including lowering the prices of certain ticket packages.

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U.S. Open champion Pete Sampras’ return to the tour has been put on hold with his withdrawal Tuesday from the Siebel Open in San Jose. The event, which starts Monday, was to have been his first since winning the Open in September.

Sampras felt he was not ready to play at the highest level at this point, according to a statement. His next scheduled event is at Scottsdale, Ariz., starting March 3.

“I won’t say I’m not disappointed because I am,” San Jose tournament director Bill Rapp said. “It’s very poor timing on his part. As a tournament director, I feel a heavy responsibility for the Bay Area tennis fans. We’ve been promoting Pete coming here before the Open.”

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World TeamTennis is returning to Southern California and the league’s co-founder Billie Jean King and Davenport will be on hand Thursday in Newport Beach for the announcement. The team will play its home matches at Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach. The season will run from July 7-27.