The Aegon International WTA Premier tournament this year boasts eight of the world’s top 10 ranked players. However, keep in mind that the top rankings haven’t meant much recently. That’s evidenced by the fact that an unseeded 17-year-old won the French Open. The tennis should be high on quality with intriguing matchups and it should translate to great entertainment for the fans. We’ll see if world No. 1 Angelique Kerber can get her season on track as she needs to find some positive momentum.
The competition in the 48-player main draw will begin on Monday, June 26.
Event Details
Event: Aegon International Eastbourne
Category: WTA Premier Level
Date: June 26 – July 1, 2017
Location: Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club – Eastbourne, England
With a prize money allotment of just under $754,000, this tournament is a welcome spot on the calendar. Few tournaments played the final week before a Grand Slam event have a purse as rich as this one. The preparation for Wimbledon is important, but this is solid prize money the week before a Slam.
Points
Champion – 470
Runner-up – 305
Semifinal – 185
Quarterfinal – 100
Round of 16 – 55
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016: Dominika Cibulkova def. Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-3
2015: Belinda Bencic def. Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
2014: Madison Keys def. Angelique Kerber 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
2013: Elena Vesnina def. Jamie Hampton 6-2, 6-1
2012: Tamira Paszek def. Angelique Kerber 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
Player Info:
Angelique Kerber needs this week in general. She could really use a productive week, not just an appearance at a tournament and a paycheck.
The German left hander was runner-up in Eastbourne in 2012 and 2014. She’ll look to finally break the drought and go one better this year. If she can at least win three matches, though, she can reasonably think she is improving, which is an essential part of her year. She has to develop confidence to reignite the form which carried her to No. 1 in 2016.
Karolina Pliskova made the finals here in Eastbourne in 2016 but she hasn’t gone beyond the second round at Wimbledon. Pliskova is a strong contender to claim her first Grand Slam title at SW19. Her game is tailor made for grass–she has a fearsome serve, killer groundstrokes, and the experience to go deep in major tournaments, which she has begun to do after faltering for most of her career.
Pliskova has grown leaps and bounds and that’s reflected in her rankings. She has climbed from No. 17 to No. 2 in space of 12 months. If the tall Czech can dominate the next 25 days, she’ll top the ranking chart. She has all the tools but will she make use of them?
Dominika Cibulkova beat U.S. Open finalist Pliskova in the battle for the Eastbourne trophy last year. However, Cibulkova hasn’t done a whole lot this year and is struggling to win back-to-back matches. She is 14-12 for the season.
Cibulkova may have failed to back up her 2016 exploits, but the fast grass courts might help the ferocious hitter to find form and be ready in time for Wimbledon.
Simona Halep hasn’t played since her heartbreaking loss in the French Open final to Jelena Ostapenko. The Romanian withdrew from the Aegon Classic in Birmingham this week with a right ankle injury but has accepted a wild card to the tournament in Eastbourne.
The fight for the No. 1 ranking has become more intense and will be more fiercely contested between her, Kerber and Pliskova in the coming weeks. It’ll be interesting to see who steps up.
Jelena Ostapenko was due to return to action in Birmingham but pulled out of the tournament. The 20-year-old Latvian is now set to begin her grass-court campaign in Eastbourne.
Ostapenko loves grass courts and has the ability to hit through her opponents. If she can demolish players on clay, imagine how destructive she can be on the lawns. Ostapenko is not the favorite but favorites don’t hold the trophy every time.
Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club
The historic park opened in 1874 as a cricket ground, and five years after throwing open its doors, it lined and marked its first tennis court in 1879. It is part of the origin story of tennis, which grew up in the United Kingdom before spreading to other parts of the world.
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