The 2017 Tashkent Open is a tournament which exists in the shadows of the WTA Tour. The highest-ranked player in this year’s field is No. 42. There’s a reason for that. It’s just a small event that really isn’t attractive to many players outside of the Russian crowd. We’re not going to say many celebrities or big names here, although they were probably holding out hope Maria Sharapova might show up. At any rate, the players on hand won’t care, and they shouldn’t. This is an opportunity for unheralded players to make a lot of coin and gain rankings points. And if you’re betting and know you’re stuff, this is a good opportunity to make some money.
The competition in the 32-player main draw will begin on Monday, September 25.
Event Details
Event: Tashkent Open
Category: WTA International Level
Date: September 25–30, 2017
Location: Tennis Centre of Tashkent – Tashkent, Uzbekistan
With a prize money allotment of roughly $226,750, there’s not a huge prize awaiting the players who participate in this event. This is partly because the event is an International Tier event, but it’s also because (and this is the main reason) the Wuhan Open in China, a Premier 5 event in which the top stars of the sport compete, occurs during the same week. This is an unfortunate situation, possibly because there was simply no other place to put Tashkent on the calendar. The Wuhan Open commands a prize money collection of just over $2.3 million, so that doesn’t leave much room for the Tashkent Open to command top dollar. You’re just not going to get a particularly amazing field of players with a Premier 5 taking place during the same week.
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 – Kristyna Pliskova def. Nao Hibino – 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
2015 – Nao Hibino def. Donna Vekic – 6-2, 6-2
2014 – Karin Knapp def. Bojana Jovanovski – 6-2, 7-6
2013 – Bojana Jovanovski def. Olga Govortsova – 4-6, 7-5, 7-6
2012 – Irina-Camelia Begu def. Donna Vekic – 6-4, 6-4
Player Info:
Kristyna Pliskova lives quietly on tour while sister Karolina Pliskova competes for big prizes and recently reached the No. 1 ranking on tour (after Wimbledon). Kristyna Pliskova is trying to create more consistency across all events and all surfaces. Playing an International event won’t bring her prestige, but winning it or at least making the final can give her the hope of generating momentum into October and then 2018.
Marketa Vondrousova, only 18 years old, has a powerful yet fluid game which, in time, has a great chance to evolve into a force on the WTA Tour. Vondrousova, as she gains match experience and watches her body develop, should be able to harness her strokes and learn how to play modern power tennis. Her future is very bright, which means that she can’t allow herself to feel negative after any loss or failure. The long view is the key.
Aleksandra Krunic has been slowed down by injuries in her career, but she showed in an upset of Jo Konta at the U.S. Open that she is immensely talented and has the game to be a factor on tour. This tournament will give her a chance to showcase her skills and make an upward move in the rankings.
Nao Hibino made the final of this tournament last year. It is a place on tour where she feels comfortable. One of the top eight seeds, Hibino will try to translate that comfort zone into a strong result and an upward move in the rankings which will give her leverage in getting main-draw entries for Premier 5 and Premier Mandatory tournaments. She’s had a pretty awful year, going just 11-16 so far. She has a losing record on two of the three surfaces, but she does have a winning record on hard courts at 11-9. That might mean something given the field this week.
Tashkent Tennis Center
The Tashkent Tennis Center is a collection of outdoor hardcourts. There is very little shade to be found. The courts do not have overhangs or awnings as part of their structure, leaving courts which are exposed to the elements. If there’s a lot of wind, it will flow through the court and affect the nature of the competition.
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