The 2016 Aegon Classic in Birmingham is the signature lead-in event before Wimbledon. One detail worth pointing out is that after 2014, the schedule for the tennis season created a three-week break between the French Open and Wimbledon, whereas the break had previously been two weeks. Because of this restructuring, the nature of the pre-Wimbledon grass season has absorbed a few changes. One is that this tournament in Birmingham has moved up the ladder on the WTA Tour, becoming a Premier level event with more money and rankings points to offer. This is not a tournament in which Wimbledon contenders have to do well, but if they can put up a good result, it certainly makes them feel more optimistic about what they can do a few weeks later on the big stage at the most famous tournament in tennis.
The competition in the 56-player main draw will begin on Monday, June 13.
Event Details
Event: Aegon Classic – Birmingham
Category: WTA Premier Level
Date: June 13 – 19, 2016
Location: Edgbaston Priory Club
With a prize money allotment of $846,000, this tournament rates as a notch above the other grass-court warm-ups before Wimbledon on the WTA Tour. This is the most visible pre-Wimbledon event with the biggest and best field, a worthy training ground for anyone who wants to make a big run at The All-England Club in a few weeks. You generally won’t see the top players play in multiple pre-Wimbledon tournaments in what is a very short grass season, so this is considered the one time when the primary contenders will get some work in to sharpen their grass-court games. It’s a big deal.
The points structure under the WTA system is that for the women, the championship at a Premier classification means 470 points. A runner-up finish is worth 305. A semifinal result is 185 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 100 points. Round-of-16 results will give 55 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Angelique Kerber def. Karolina Pliskova – 6-7, 6-3, 7-6
2014 – Ana Ivanovic def. Barbora Strycova – 6-3, 6-2
2013 – Daniela Hantuchova def. Donna Vekic, 7-6, 6-4
2012 – Melanie Oudin def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-4, 6-2
2011 – Sabine Lisicki def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3, 6-2
Player Info:
In a 56-player field, the top eight seeds get first-round byes. Those seeds, in order from one through eight, are Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep, Belinda Bencic, Petra Kvitova, Carla Suarez Navarro, Madison Keys, and Karolina Pliskova.
It will be interesting to see how Radwanska and Halep perform at this event as you might recall, both went out early at the French Open due to being forced to play in rainy conditions. That shouldn’t be a problem here but keep an eye on their mindsets. Radwanska made the Wimbledon semifinals last season, so she’s a player that could potentially threaten for a title. To make that happen, though, she’s going to have to show well here. The hard courts are her best surface (315-125 lifetime) but she does play well on grass as well (53-21). She was 12 on grass last year.
Kerber is probably one of the better bets for this tournament as grass is her strong suit. She was 8-2 on grass in 2014 in main draws and 7-1 last year. However, she’s rarely played well in grand slams, so you might want to back her here and avoid her at Wimbledon. She did win the Australian Open earlier this year but other than that, she’s made it as far as the quarterfinals just three in the last 16 grand slams.
Radwanska and Kvitova are in one quarter of the draw. You might recall that Kvitova won Wimbledon in 2014 but she’s made just one grandslam quarterfinal in the seven since. Bencic and Pliskova are in the second quarter of the draw in the top half. In the bottom half, Keys and Halep are in one quarter, and Suarez Navarro and Kerber reside in the other.
Edgbaston Priory Club
The Edgbaston Priory Club was founded in 1965, but it has been updated to adequately meet the needs of a local community which continues to support this Wimbledon warm-up event. The main stadium court seats 2,500 people. The facility contains 30 tennis courts to meet the demand created by a busy first-round schedule in this 56-player draw. It’s the showcase WTA event in the pre-Wimbledon portion of the grass-court season.
