PORSCHE TENNIS GRAND PRIX STUTTGART, GERMANY APR 18 - APR 24 . 2016

TOURNAMENT INFO

TIER: Premier
PRIZE MONEY: $693,900

SURFACE: Clay
DIRECTOR: Markus Guenthardt

First played in 1978 and winner of the WTA's Premier Tournament Of The Year award in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is Europe's oldest indoor women's event and is the lone indoor clay tournament on the calendar. Previously a fall hardcourt event, Stuttgart became a red clay tournament staged in the spring in 2009, making it ideal preparation for Roland Garros. In fact, the clay comes from France and its grain size of 0.1 mm is the same that is used at the French Open.

"The surface is very fast and almost identical to the one in Roland Garros," former WTA star Elena Dementieva said.

The winner of the event at the Porsche Arena receives a Porsche 911 Carrera sports car in addition to a handsome prize sum. Martina Navratilova is the tournament record holder with six singles titles and eight doubles titles. Other Stuttgart titlists include former World No.1s Tracy Austin, Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin, Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova, who won the title for the third straight time in 2014 - the first time in her career she became an event's three-time champion.

Featuring hills, valleys and parks, Stuttgart is the capital of the Baden-Württemberg state in southern Germany.