Qatar Airways sponsors women's tennis championship in Doha

Qatar Airways is the Official Airline and its award-winning subsidiary, Qatar Duty Free is the Bronze Sponsor of the prestigious annual tournament taking place at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in Doha.

The week-long event, which ends on Sunday 17 February, sees some of the biggest names in women's tennis battling it out on court.

The strong line-up includes world number one and defending champion, newly-crowned Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, French Open winner and former Qatar Total Open champion Maria Sharapova, together with Wimbledon and Olympic champion Serena Williams.

Qatar Airways and Qatar Duty Free have a strong brand presence on court again this year, with both having pavilions in the public village. Qatar Duty Free has an exciting array of products on sale in the public village with an incentive of a free gift for spend exceeding QAR350.

The Qatar Total Open has enjoyed a rich history in Doha, having had some of the game's top players vie for the prestigious title. Past winners have included, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Anastasia Myskina, Nadia Petrova and Justine Henin.

During last year's Qatar Total Open, Victoria Azarenka clinched the title after defeating Australian Samantha Stosur in straight sets. Just last month, Azarenka successfully defended her Australian Open title and retain the top spot in the world rankings.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the airline was proud to once again sponsor this successful world-class event which has been so well-received around the world.

"We are excited to be offering our five-star hospitality to some of the world's best tennis talent and look forward to hosting a week of great tennis action in Doha. The State of Qatar has made its mark in being a top sporting destination for world leading sports stars every year, and we are delighted to be in the spotlight once again for a week of action-packed tennis."

Qatar Duty Free Senior Vice-President Keith Hunter said that he was excited to be associated again with such an important tournament, within a month of supporting the men's tennis event - Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

"Qatar Duty Free will once again have a presence in the public village with a dedicated pavilion where it will showcase a wide range of items for sale. We will also have significant court presence promoting the brand," he said.

"We are confident that this event will continue to attract thousands of spectators from Qatar and overseas, giving visitors a great opportunity to buy exciting products at special prices.," added Hunter.

As one of the fastest growing Duty Free operators in the world and the second largest Duty Free retailer in the Middle East, Qatar Duty Free is gearing up to move to its new location spread over 25,000 sqm. at Hamad International Airport which is due to open this year.

Qatar Duty Free is truly a retail success story providing exciting year-round product promotions and value for money offers. The luxury cars and cash raffle draws conducted in regular prize draws are extremely popular with passengers travelling through Doha International Airport, where Qatar Duty Free operates its retail units. Customers can also buy the raffle tickets online by visiting Qatar Duty Free website.

As the national airline of the State of Qatar, Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 119 aircraft to 124 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.

Over the next few weeks, Qatar Airways will launch services to a diverse portfolio of new routes, including Phnom Penh, Cambodia (February 20); Chengdu, China (March 19); Chicago, USA (April 10); and Salalah, Oman (May 22) with many more new start-ups planned.