SINGAPORE - The year-long race in which professional women's tennis players try to earn a coveted spot at the season-ender BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global now has an apt partner to go with the campaign.

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) announced on Sunday (April 30) that it has partnered Porsche in a multi-year deal, with the German automobile manufacturer signing on as the title sponsor for the qualification campaign to the Finals.

What was previously known as the "Road to Singapore" will now take on the moniker "Porsche Race to Singapore".

The player who finishes the regular season as No. 1 on the leaderboard after the 57 tournaments on the WTA calendar (including the four Grand Slams), will win a Porsche 911 GTS Cabriolet, alongside a berth at the prestigious event.

This year's Finals will be held from Oct 22-29 at the Singapore Sports Hub, the fourth of five editions hosted in the Republic.

WTA chief executive officer and chairman Steve Simon said at an announcement event in Stuttgart where the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was held: "The WTA is delighted to strengthen its long-standing relationship with Porsche. Porsche has supported women's tennis for 40 years and we look forward to now creating a global footprint for the brand's association with the WTA."

Porsche has been title sponsors of the WTA tournament in Stuttgart - where Porsche is headquartered - for 40 years.

Czech Karolina Pliskova currently leads the standings, with wins at the Brisbane International and Qatar Open, followed by Dane Caroline Wozniacki. Miami Open champion Johanna Konta of Britain is in third place.

Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, who was making her debut, won last year's Finals - lifting the biggest title of her career so far.