The 2017 Shenzhen Open lifts the curtain on the new WTA tennis season. The long off period of November and December is over. Players have been able to get legitimate vacation time and then spend extended time training for the new calendar year of competition. It’s an exciting time in women’s tennis. The tour begins 2017 with Angelique Kerber being the No. 1 player and the owner of a majority of recent major championships. Maybe another player on tour will be inspired to rise to new heights. However, the tour is also sad about the injury suffered by Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion. She’ll be out at least through May and hopes to be back for Wimbledon in late June.
The competition in the 32-player main draw of the Shenzhen Open begins on Monday, January 2.
Event Details
Event: Shenzhen Open
Category: WTA International tier
Date: January 2 – 8, 2017
Location: Shenzhen Longgang Sports Center – Shenzhen, China
The 2017 Shenzhen Open will mark the 30th year of the tournament. It’s not a prestigious tournament, but it’s certainly a durable one. Professionals appreciate a chance to play before the end of the season.
With a prize money allotment of $750,000, this event offers a lot of bang for the buck. It is only an International tier event in terms of points and stature, but for that classification on the WTA tournament ladder, this is as lucrative a purse as you’ll find. It’s a great lure to players, giving them incentive to start their seasons in China.
The points structure under any of the WTA International tier events on the women’s tour will offer 280 player points towards the winner’s ranking, with 180 points going to the tournament’s runner-up. Semifinalists get 110 points, quarterfinalists 60, and round of 16 players 30 points. First round (round of 32) losers get only one point.
Former Champions and Results (4 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016: Agnieszka Radwanska d. Alison Riske 6-3, 6-2
2015: Simona Halep d. Timea Bacsinszky 6-2, 6-2
2014: Li Na d. Peng Shuai 6-4, 7-5
2013: Li Na d. Klara Zakopalova 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
Player Info:
Agnieszka Radwanska can find insane angles and is often able to hit magic shots. It’s no wonder she won the shot of the year award for the fourth consecutive time. At Wimbledon, Radwanska also played the most entertaining match of the season against pocket rocket Dominika Cibulkova. However, three little known titles and few magic moments apart, Radwanska had nothing to show for in 2016. She was unable to attain the consistency in tournaments that mattered the most. In this day and age, the smart Pole still remains the best player not win a major. The hunt for a maiden Grand Slam is still on, but time is running out. Her 53-18 record justifies her top-3 ranking but disappointing slam results is what she’ll aim to change.
She comes to Shenzhen, the most lucrative of the WTA international events, with a phenomenal record on the Asian continent. Ten of her 20 titles have come in Asia. Radwanska won the warm-up tourney last year and went on to make the semifinals in Melbourne. She would be hoping for a similar start to build up her confidence going into the Australian Open– her most successful major.
Simona Halep won the Shenzhen title in 2015 but for some reason opted out in 2016 and traveled to Sydney instead. That didn’t augur too well, as she went crashing out of Sydney and disastrously went down in the open round in Melbourne. It wasn’t until Madrid where Halep showed signs of recovery. She had a good Wimbledon swing, followed by title runs in Bucharest and Montreal. The Romanian threatened to win the U.S. Open but it took a spirited Serena Williams to end the Halep run. Darren Cahill has been a major influence in shaping her attitude and it would be interesting to see how she fares in Grand Slams. She has been long predicted to win bigger events and 2017 could just be the year she leaves her mark.
Johanna Konta was hands down the most improved non-Kerber player of 2016. Konta was ranked a lowly 146 at the start of 2015 but has fast climbed the ranking ladder. She doesn’t have any happy memories from Shenzhen last year. She was pushed out in the first round but then shocked the global audience by going all the way till the semifinals in Melbourne. It would be interesting to view Konta’s ride in 2017. The Brit isn’t defending any points in Shenzhen and will have the liberty to whack tennis balls without too much to ponder. How she fares Down Under will make for a fascinating watch. Will she falter under the weight of expectation or will she rise to the challenge of defending a truckload of points?
Timea Bacsinszky, ranked at No. 15, and former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic also feature in the Shenzhen draw, but will they have any impact? At the moment, it is hard to see beyond No. 1 seed Radwanska and No. 2 seed Halep.
Shenzhen Longgang Sports Center
The new and modern tennis complex has 32 hard courts, more than enough to host a 32-player tournament and provide plenty of venues for practice. The stadium court holds 4,000 people, an intimate setting for a low-key event on tour.
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