Kuznetsova vaults into lucrative season-ender

Svetlana Kuznetsova on Monday became the fifth player to qualify for the women's tennis season-ending singles tournament in Qatar later this month.

The French Open champion joins fellow Russians Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva as well as Serena Williams and Danish US Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki.

"In the last year I've worked really hard on my game and fitness and I am proud of the season I've had. I look forward to competing with the best tennis players in the world in Doha," Kuznetsova said in a statement.

The season-ender -- named the Sony Ericsson Championships - boasts a prize pot of $4.55million.

The world's top eight singles players and top four doubles teams from 2009 will compete.

The Championships were first played in 1972 and since then the event has been held in venues including Madison Square Garden, New York City; the Olympiahalle in Munich; Staples Center in Los Angeles; and the Recinto Ferial Casa de Campo in Madrid.

This year's tournament will take place at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha, Qatar, from Oct  27 to Nov  1.

Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the Emirates Business 24|7 daily newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.