Tournament organisers of the ASB Classic are overjoyed at the results of a review process of the 2006 event which rates it as the most successful to date in its 21 year history. The review was conducted by Auckland Tennis in tandem with the WTA Tour, the global body for women’s tennis. Information was drawn from crowd attendance statistics, television viewing figures and levels of media coverage while the WTA Tour also independently assessed tournament facilities and organisation and sought player’s feedback on their week in Auckland.

The field assembled for the 2006 tournament was one of the strongest on record, with a top-ten ranked player participating for only the second time in the event’s history and joined by a further two in the top-20.

Spectators responded accordingly with gate figures for the week exceeding 20,000 despite rain disrupting play on three of the six days. This level of attendance at the ASB Classic exceeded all previous records bar the 2002 event which featured Anna Kournikova.

The strong field similarly accounted for strong TV viewership, with around 400,000 homes tuning in to the live free-to-air coverage. The event, which eventually saw crowd favourite Marion Bartoli triumph over Russia’s Vera Zvonerava, also commanded extensive coverage in other forms of media; with large scale coverage in newspapers, radio listenership, including live commentary and heavy traffic on websites.

The WTA Tour’s examination of the tournament’s organisation, operation and facilities passed with flying colours. Kirsten Wallace, WTA Tour Senior Marketing & Sponsorship Manager, concluded that the ASB Classic was "…punching way above its status of a Tier IV tournament. It compares favourably with many Tier III and II events".

The WTA Tour’s glowing reference was supported by feedback from the players, who highly rated the warmth and hospitality of the Auckland event and the level of professionalism they encountered from all associated with the tournament. "It was a good tournament. Very well run with plenty of spectators and a tournament director who was so good to deal with," said Nadia Petrova the tournament top seed.

Tournament director Richard Palmer is delighted by the results of the review. "It’s a real vindication of the efforts of all involved in the ASB Classic. I’m particularly pleased that we achieved this with the 2006 tournament – it has special significance with it marking the tenth anniversary of both ASB’s naming rights sponsorship and my own directorship. I feel particularly fortunate to have worked alongside ASB over the past decade to grow the tournament – their commitment to the sport goes above and beyond that of a sponsor".

Palmer is already looking forward to next January. "The recruitment process for 2007 has already begun and we’ll be helped by the fact that the players who were here this year will talk to others positively about NZ. While it’s great to have achieved so much this year, we certainly don’t plan to rest on our laurels."

The tournament has been given an additional boost with ASB’s announcement on finals day this year that they will extend their current sponsorship through to the 2008 event.