The 2017 Guangzhou Open won’t receive a lot of global publicity, but it could launch a few players into Tokyo or Wuhan with a chance to make a bigger mark on this WTA tennis season. With the event happening in China, the local players are going to be the stars. No, we’re not going to see a slew of names from the Top 25. Instead, this event is wide open and presents some value for bettors who know what they are doing. Let’s take a closer look at the upcoming competition, which begins on Monday, September 18.
Event Details
Event: Guangzhou Open
Category: WTA International tier
Date: September 18 – 23, 2017
Location: Guangzhou International Tennis Center – Guangzhou, China
The 2017 Guangzhou Open is a gateway tournament, not a prize in itself, but more a way for players to revive their seasons as the first step in a multi-tournament process.
With a prize money allotment of $226,750, this tournament – like the Korea Open during the same week – is meant for match play and a chance for lower-tier players to make a push up the rankings latter in the final weeks of the tennis season. Players at this level want to be able to reach the main draw or at least make the qualifying rounds for the Premier 5 tournaments left on the calendar, such as Wuhan.
Points
Champion – 280
Runner-up – 180
Semifinal – 110
Quarterfinal – 60
Round of 16 – 30
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016 – Lesia Tsurenko def. Jelena Jankovic – 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
2015 – Jelena Jankovic def. Denisa Allertova – 6-2, 6-0
2014 – Monica Niculescu def. Alize Cornet – 6-4, 6-0
2013 – Zhang Shuai def. Vania King – 7-6, 6-1
2012 – Hsieh Su-wei def. Laura Robson – 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Player Info:
Peng Shuai made the round of 32 at Wimbledon before losing a tough two-set match to Simona Halep. That is her best result of the year as a singles player, alongside her round of 16 at Indian Wells before falling to Venus Williams. Peng collected some round of 16 results in the earlier part of the season but has not been able to keep the same pace since. This is a 2014 U.S. Open semifinalist who is capable of a high level, but who has been searching for her best form the last few seasons.
Zhang Shuai has had an unusual season, in that the Grand Slam events have been her best events. Very rarely able to get past the round of 64 in the vast majority of tournaments she has played in 2017, Zhang made the round of 32 at the French Open and the U.S. Open. She played well in the matches she lost, to top-10 players Svetlana Kuznetsova (Roland Garros) and Karolina Pliskova (U.S. Open). She had a match point over Pliskova and lost it, barely falling short in that match. If she can play at that level in these smaller tournaments, she can build up her ranking.
Anett Kontaveit of Estonia has played really good tennis for brief periods of time this year. Solid on clay, she took Garbine Muguruza to the third set of an early-round match at the French Open before losing. At Wimbledon, she very nearly made the second week and served for the match against Caroline Wozniacki, but got broken and eventually lost. Kontaveit is a young player with a lot of talent who is learning how to deal with match pressure and the strain of life on tour. She simply needs to go back out to the court and apply lessons on what it takes to grow in tennis.
Elise Mertens had a decent clay season, with three round of 16 or better results, including the Istanbul final and a Swiss women’s championship quarterfinal. She then made the round of 32 at Roland Garros, a highly encouraging showing at a Grand Slam event. However, on grass and hardcourts, she has not been able to produce the same results. Playing on hardcourts later in the season will provide experience for a young player who is trying to find her way and learning to be an all-surface player.
Guangzhou International Tennis Center
The 10-year-old facility has a 5,000-seat center court, a 2,000-seat second show court, and a third featured court with 1,500 seats. The facility contains several other hardcourts to facilitate this tournament, part of China’s 21st-century investment in tennis.
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