BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA JAN 03 - JAN 09, 2016. TOURNAMENT INFO

TOURNAMENT INFO 
 TIER: Premier 
PRIZE MONEY: $885,500 
SURFACE: Hard 
DIRECTOR: Cameron Pearson 

Staged the first week of the year during the lead-up to the Australian Open, the Brisbane International has had quite an increase in status since its debut as a combined ATP-WTA tournament in 2009. It went from International to Premier level in 2012, with prize money for the women increasing from $220,000 to $655,000. Then in 2013 the purse went all the way up to $1 million. Brisbane's champions include Victoria Azarenka, Kim Clijsters, Petra Kvitova, Maria Sharapova and two-time winner Serena Williams. Clijsters' 2010 triumph was especially memorable, as she saved two match points in the final against rival and fellow Belgian Justine Henin in Henin's first event back after more than a year and a half away from tennis. The capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland, Brisbane is classified as a global city. 
It has hosted several international sporting extravaganzas, including the 1982 Commonwealth Games, the 2001 Goodwill Games and the 2008 Rugby League World Cup final.