Tennis: Win chance to meet the WTA’s top player

As it stands, WTA world No. 1 Simona Halep of Romania is at the top of the Porsche Race to Singapore's leaderboard, with Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza of Spain close behind. PHOTO: AFP

Fleet-footed readers who also think quickly on their feet could win an opportunity to meet the best player of the 2017 women's professional tennis season.

The Straits Times is partnering the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and Porsche to give five readers an exclusive meet-and-greet chance with the top player of this year's Porsche Race to Singapore.

This player would have finished the regular season as No. 1 on the leaderboard after the 57 tournaments on the WTA calendar (including the four Grand Slams).

The five ST readers will get to catch the player at a handover ceremony on Oct 20, when the athlete is awarded a Porsche 911 GTS.

As it stands, WTA world No. 1 Simona Halep of Romania is at the top of the leaderboard, with Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza of Spain close behind.

Besides the chance to meet one of the world's top players, each reader will also receive a WTA Finals jumbo ball and a pair of tickets to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

The event, now into its fourth edition, is from Oct 22-29 at the Singapore Sports Hub.

The contest is similar to a treasure hunt, where a clue will be tweeted to readers on the @STcom Twitter account at around 9.30am on Oct 18. It will carry the hashtag #STRacetotheTop.

This first clue will lead readers to a location, where they will complete a task in exchange for the second hint to the next destination and clue.

By the end of the third clue, readers will know where they have to be on Oct 20. The first five to complete the task on that day will win the meet-and-greet opportunity.

Oliver Eidam, director (brand partnerships and sponsorship) at Porsche, said of the novel partnership: "The Porsche Race to Singapore is the ultimate journey to the pinnacle of women's tennis - the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

"Porsche is proud to partner ST and the WTA to bring fans closer to the best in the sport."

The WTA Finals is the season finale of the women's tour, featuring eight of the year's top singles players and eight doubles pairs.

The likes of Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Karolina Pliskova will also be among those hoping to win the US$7 million (S$9.48 million) tournament.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 14, 2017, with the headline Tennis: Win chance to meet the WTA’s top player. Subscribe