The WTA Elite Trophy, Zhuhai announced today that China’s national hero, Li Na, has been appointed as the Tournament Ambassador of the event for 2015.

The announcement comes as the tournament begins its 200 days countdown to the commencement of the event, to be held on November 2-8th in Zhuhai, China.

The WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai is a women's singles and doubles competition offering $USD 2.15 million in prize money, staged in southern China for the next five years.

The tournament will be staged at the custom designed, state-of-the-art tennis center in Zhuhai,and will feature a 12-player singles field consisting of players ranked No.9 through 19 in the world, along with one wildcard in a four-group round-robin format. The winners of each group will advance to the single-elimination stage of the event.  Meanwhile, the six-team doubles field will compete in a two-group round robin with the winner of each group advancing to the final. The winner of the singles event will receive 700 WTA Ranking points.

Li Na said, "I am very much looking forward to my role as ambassador for the new WTA Elite Trophy, which is tailored made for the beautiful city of Zhuhai. The event will feature the most talented players in the world and the new venue on Hengqin Island will be a fantastic place for the players, and I am sure they will enjoy the beautiful and romantic city of Zhuhai."

 “It is with great excitement that we announce the appointment of Li Na as our tournament ambassador”, said Tournament Director Peter Johnston.” Li Na has been an incredible champion throughout her career and has represented her country magnificently both on and off the court. Now as she transitions to the next phase of her career, we are fortunate to have her as part of our event. Li Na recognized the quality of the event and also the dramatic growth of the city of Zhuhai and its plans for the future and that is why she has welcomed the opportunity to become part of our event”.

“We are looking forward to hosting this event in the spectacular city of Zhuhai,” Zhuhai Vice Mayor Lydia Long said, “It promises to be an amazing player field with Top 20 players competing head-to-head in every match. It will be an event full of excitement and innovation. On behalf of Zhuhai’s 1.5 million hospitable citizens, I would like to extend our sincere invitation to the best women players, the press, and friends from all over the world.  Beautiful and romantic Zhuhai awaits your visits.”

Zhuhai is located on the southern coast of China, close to Hong Kong and Macau, and last year was named "China's most livable city" by the Chinese Academy of Social Services. Zhuhai will host the event at a state-of-the-art venue featuring a 5,000 seat covered center court, a 1,500 seat court, 4 show courts and a total of 12 hard courts. The renowned Huafa Group in conjunction with APG Group will manage the tournament. Huafa Group is constructing the new venue.