The 2016 Istanbul Cup is going to take a back seat in terms of global publicity to the same week’s WTA event in Stuttgart, but don’t tell that to the players who will come to Turkey. Building a clay resume and momentum for Roland Garros is highly important for the competitors who will come to this relatively younger tournament on the WTA circuit.
The competition in the 32-player main draw begins on Monday, April 24.
Event Details
Event: Istanbul Cup
Category: WTA International tier
Date: April 24 – 30, 2017
Location: Koza World of Sport Complex – Istanbul, Turkey
The 2017 Istanbul Cup is all about improving one’s place on tour. With a prize money allotment of $250,000, there isn’t a huge draw for this tournament in terms of payouts, and that’s to be expected, since the bigger clay tournaments are coming up in Madrid and Rome in early May. You’re not going to see the great rivalries of women’s tennis at this tournament, but this is more of a battle within than a battle between athletes. At the lower tiers of the tour, there isn’t as much intimidation from the other side of the net. This tournament is all about keeping composure and staying the course.
Points
Champion – 280
Runner-up – 180
Semifinal – 110
Quarterfinal – 60
Round of 16 – 30
Former Champions and Results (5 Years/5 Results)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016: Cagla Buyukakcay def. Danka Kovinic 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
2015: Lesia Tsurenko def. Urszula Radwanska 7-5, 6-1
2014: Caroline Wozniacki def. Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-1
2011-2013 – not held
2010 – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Elena Vesnina – 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
2009 – Vera Dushevina def. Lucie Hradecka – 6-0, 6-1
Player Info:
Elina Svitolina was in red hot form in February, when she was on a 15-match winning streak and capped it with the best result of her career. She lifted the trophy in Taiwan, then notched back-to-back Fed Cup wins for her country before landing biggest title of her career at the Premier 5 Dubai Duty Free Championships. On her way to the title, she posted back-to-back victories over Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber. The first quarter of 2017 belonged to the Ukrainian. Svitolina won 20 matches and was on the losing side just four times in that period. If she can showcase as much consistency on a hard court, imagine the damage she could do on clay.
Eugenie Bouchard is 7-8 for the season and has slipped to No. 58 in the WTA rankings. The Canadian star suffered early exits in each of her previous four tournaments coming into Indian Harbour Beach, an ITF tournament. Even on the lower circuit, she has failed to get going. Bouchard was dumped out of the quarterfinals in straight sets by Victoria Duval. Back in 2014, she reached No. 5 in the world, but now she isn’t half the player she was. Can Bouchard reinvent herself in Istanbul? She has lost focus and there is no sign which suggests she’ll play her best tennis anytime soon, but things change rapidly in the tennis world.
Lara Arruabarrena started the year 1-4, but beat Madison Keys in Miami to make the fourth round. She went down to Andrea Petkovic in the opening round in Charleston, but quickly rediscovered a winning formula in Colombia. It has been a topsy-turvy ride for Arruabarrena, but she found a way to progress to the final in Bogota, her first tour final since her surprise victory in Seoul in 2016. Arruabarrena came from a set down to beat Switzerland’s Conny Perrin in the opening round of Bogota, before recording her only straight-set victory of the tournament against Russia’s Irina Khromacheva. She was pushed into an opening set tiebreak before dishing a breadstick in that match. Arruabarrena showed her physical prowess in her marathon quarterfinal victory over Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic. Clay is a demanding surface but Arruabarrena is tailor-made for dirt. How far can she go in Istanbul? She has a pretty good chance if she avoids playing long three setters.
Koza World of Sport Complex
The Koza World of Sport Complex is the largest tennis facility in the world in terms of the number of courts, with 64. It is a sprawling facility, and it has accompanied Istanbul’s rise as a more prominent tennis destination. This tournament returned after Istanbul hosted the year-ending WTA Finals from 2011 through 2013.
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