Venus Williams to feature in BMW Malaysian Open 2014

Former world number one, Venus Williams and current world number 11, Dominika Cibulkova will be making an appearance at BMW Malaysian Open 2014 at Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) from April 14-20.

Head of Corporate Communication of BMW Group Malaysia, Sashi Ambi said defending champion Karolina Pliskova and 2012 Hsieh-Su Wei are set to serve some scorching tennis matches.

"The championship will once again see 32 players from the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), the world leading women's tennis tour, compete for the singles titles and the doubles title.

"The BMW Malaysian Open provides the opportunity for local tennis players to hone and sharpen their skills by competing against some the world's best tennis players," he told a press conference at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here.

Also present were Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz and Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia president Tan Sri Abdul Razak Latiff.

Venus was ranked world number one singles player by the WTA for the first time on February 25, 2002. She is the sister of current world number one, Serena Williams.

Sashi said WTA, the sanctioning body of the tournament has also extended its commitment to the Malaysian Open for another six years until 2019.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Nazri said tennis has a huge appeal among the high yield tourist segment and supporting such a major global event will help Malaysia to establish another foothold as host of the premier event.

"Last year's championship attracted a total of 11,034 spectators of whom 2,725 are foreign spectators.

"Total economic value directly generated was over RM22 million while total economic value indirectly generated was over RM93 million," he added.