PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP)—Tournament officials and the WTA say The MPS Group Championships women’s tennis event is folding after 31 years because of a restructuring of the tour calendar.
The WTA wanted the tournament to shift in 2011 from its regular slot in April to either February or sometime during the summer. In a press release Friday, the tournament says such a switch “would have presented significant challenges” because of “weather and/or required court surface.”
The tournament moved to Ponte Vedra Beach from Amelia Island in 2009.
In a telephone interview, WTA spokesman Andrew Walker says the tour is “actively pursuing” a new event in the United States as a result of losing the Florida tournament.