Diamond Games
| Diamond Games |
|---|
 |
| Tournament information |
|---|
| Founded |
2002–2009, 2015 |
|---|
| Location |
Antwerp
Belgium |
|---|
| Venue |
Sportpaleis Merksem |
|---|
| Category |
Tier II (2002–2009)
WTA Premier (2015–) |
|---|
| Surface |
Hard (indoors) |
|---|
| Draw |
28S/32Q/16D |
|---|
| Prize money |
$731,000 |
|---|
| Website |
Sport.be |
|---|
The Diamond Games (known as BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games for sponsorship reason) is a professional women's tennis tournament organized in Antwerp, Belgium. Held from 2002 until 2008 as Proximus Diamond Games, the tournament took and takes place in the Sportpaleis, and was/is played at the beginning of February. In 2009, with the restructuring of the WTA tour and the retirement of both Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, the tournament lost its status of being a WTA tour tournament and evolved into an annual exhibition tennis event featuring Kim Clijsters, first as the Thomas Cook Diamond Games, in 2009, the GDF-Suez Diamond Games in 2010 and in 2011 as the Diamond Games with BNP Paribas Fortis.
The Diamond Games offered a distinctive trophy to any player that can win the singles three times in five years. In 2007, upon completing this feat, Amélie Mauresmo won a golden racquet decorated with diamonds. The inspiration for the trophy came from a previous men's tennis event that used to be held in Antwerp, the European Community Championships. The racquet's value was an estimated 1 million euros. The others to come close to winning the racquet were Venus Williams in 2006; but she pulled out two days before the event, citing a persistent wrist injury, and Justine Henin who retired on in May 2008.
A new trophy was unveiled in 2008, which featured a golden racquet and a ball, and was decorated with 2008 diamonds. The conditions for winning it were the same. Its value is an estimated 1.5 million euros.
After being an exhibition-only event between 2009 and 2014, the competitive version of Diamond Games returned to WTA calender in 2015, replacing the Paris-based Open GDF Suez tournament, with a status of WTA Premier event.
Past finals
Singles
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
| ↓ Tier II tournament ↓ |
| 2002 |  Venus Williams | .svg.png) Justine Henin | 6–3, 5–7, 6–3 |
| 2003 | Venus Williams | Kim Clijsters | 6–2, 6–4 |
| 2004 | Kim Clijsters |  Silvia Farina Elia | 6–3, 6–0 |
| 2005 |  Amélie Mauresmo | Venus Williams | 4–6, 7–5, 6–4 |
| 2006 | Amélie Mauresmo | Kim Clijsters | 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 2007 | Amélie Mauresmo | Kim Clijsters | 6–4, 7–6(7–4) |
| 2008 | Justine Henin | Karin Knapp | 6–3, 6–3 |
| 2009-14 | Only exhibition tournaments held |
| ↓ Premier tournament ↓ |
| 2015 |  Andrea Petkovic |  Carla Suárez Navarro | Walkover |
Doubles
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Score |
| ↓ Tier II tournament ↓ |
| 2002 |  Magdalena Maleeva
 Patty Schnyder | Nathalie Dechy
Meilen Tu | 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3 |
| 2003 | Kim Clijsters
 Ai Sugiyama | Nathalie Dechy
Émilie Loit | 6–2, 6–0 |
| 2004 |  Cara Black
Els Callens | Myriam Casanova
 Eleni Daniilidou | 6–2, 6–1 |
| 2005 | Cara Black
Els Callens | Anabel Medina
 Dinara Safina | 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 2006 | Dinara Safina
 Katarina Srebotnik | Stéphanie Foretz
 Michaëlla Krajicek | 6–1, 6–1 |
| 2007 | Cara Black
 Liezel Huber | Elena Likhovtseva
Elena Vesnina | 7–5, 4–6, 6–1 |
| 2008 | Cara Black
Liezel Huber |  Květa Peschke
Ai Sugiyama | 6–1, 6–3 |
| 2009-14 | Only exhibition tournaments held |
| ↓ Premier tournament ↓ |
| 2015 | Anabel Medina Garrigues
Arantxa Parra Santonja | An-Sophie Mestach
Alison Van Uytvanck | 6–4, 3–6, [10–5] |
External links