The 2017 edition of the WTA Rogers Cup is filled with interesting storylines, since Serena Williams will be absent for this tournament and the whole summer through the U.S. Open. This hardcourt summer season is another chance for players to take advantage of Serena’s nonexistence in a tennis sense, piling up rankings points and trying to win prestigious championships on tour. Canada won’t determine the U.S. Open situation, but it will certainly shape it.
The competition in the 64-player main draw begins on Monday, August 7 in Montreal.
Event Details
Event: WTA Rogers Cup
Category: WTA Premier 5 Level
Date: August 7 – 13, 2017
Location: Aviva Centre – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
With a purse of over $2.43 million, the WTA half of the Rogers Cup is not the crown jewel of the summer hardcourt season, but a valuable first step on the road to the U.S. Open at the end of August. This is a Premier 5 level tournament, one of the bigger non-major tournament prizes on the schedule. What makes this year’s tournament more interesting and more important is the extremely tight grouping of the top players in the rankings. The No. 1 ranking could switch hands like a hot potato over the next month, through the U.S. Open.
Points
Champion – 900
Runner-up – 585
Semifinal – 350
Quarterfinal – 190
Round of 16 – 105
Round of 32 – 60
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016 – Simona Halep def. Madison Keys – 7-6, 6-3
2015 – Belinda Bencic def. Simona Halep – 7-6, 6-7, 3-0 (retired)
2014 – Agnieszka Radwanska def. Venus Williams – 6-4, 6-2
2013 – Serena Williams def. Sorana Cirstea – 6-2, 6-0
2012 – Petra Kvitova def. Li Na – 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
Player Info:
The questions surrounding the WTA Tour are numerous and interesting heading into Toronto:
Will Garbine Muguruza – who has looked very good this week in Stanford – continue to show that her Wimbledon title has turned her into a consistent player who will perform at a high level all the time? If Muguruza can become a steady force, Serena might have a very tough time winning Grand Slams when she comes back next year. On the season, Muguruza is 31-12 and has been among the best players on the tour. She is 15-6 on the hard courts, which is better than her 6-3 record on clay, although she did go 10-2 on grass this season.
Will Angelique Kerber – who played Muguruza tough at Wimbledon – show that she is ready to return to being an elite player? Kerber is no longer No. 1, and many people in tennis think that being No. 1 weighed on her. Will she now play freely? Kerber is just 16-8 on the hard courts this season, which is worse than her 40-10 record last season.
Jelena Ostapenko did well on French clay, then on Wimbledon grass. Can she now bring her championship form to the hardcourts of North America? Everyone wants to find out. Ostapenko thrived on clay this season, going 16-3, but hard courts are not her strong suit. She is just 8-6 on the hard courts this year.
Karolina Pliskova plays her first tournament as World No. 1. How will she handle the pressure of being the target, the player everyone wants to beat?
Caroline Wozniacki made her fifth final of the year a week ago and lost it. She is 0-5 in finals. Will she get discouraged, or will she be motivated to keep playing well… and then take the final step of winning a tour title in 2017?
Can Eugenie Bouchard gain momentum from playing in her home country? She has had a miserable season, but maybe Canada can begin a run which will lead through the U.S. Open.
Jo Konta made the semifinals of Wimbledon but has never made the semifinals at the U.S. Open. Is she ready to make a deep push on North American hardcourts?
Aviva Centre
The Aviva Centre, formerly named the Rexall Centre, was built in 2004. It’s a state of the art facility in Toronto with a stadium court which holds 12,500 seats and very clear sight lines. The main stadium court has 39 suites. There are 11 other courts as part of the complex, hosting a first round with 24 matches over two days. This represents the new Toronto home for an event which began in 1881, surpassed only by Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in longevity as a men’s tennis tournament.
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