The 2017 Korea Open generally doesn’t pull in big fields, and this is not a spectacular one, but the International level tournament – lower on the WTA food chain than most events – has a star player in its collection of professionals, spicing up the tournament and lending some zest to the week in East Asia. We’re not going to see many A-listers here but one player that will be of note is Jelena Ostapenko. She won the 2017 French Open earlier this year and while she hasn’t had a ton of success since, she’ll be expected to do well in South Korea. Here is a closer look at this week’s event.
The competition in the 32-player main draw begins on Monday, September 18.
Event Details
Event: Korea Open
Category: WTA International tier
Date: September 18 – 24, 2017
Location: Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center – Seoul, South Korea
The 2017 Korea Open will try to reignite seasons for a lot of the players at this event. You will notice some commonalities among some of the seeded contenders at the event.
With a prize money allotment of $226,750, the tournament is not a big cash magnet. The importance here is for players to develop momentum and form heading into the rest of the Asian swing on the tour.
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 – Lara Arruabarrena def. Monica Niculescu – 6-0, 2-6, 6-0
2015 – Irina-Camelia Begu def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich – 6-3. 6-1
2014 – Karolina Pliskova def. Varvara Lepchenko – 6-3, 6-7, 6-2
2013 – Agnieszka Radwanska def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
2012 – Caroline Wozniacki def. Kaia Kanepi – 7-6, 7-6
Player Info:
Jelena Ostapenko is the crown jewel of this field. The 20-year-old Latvian caused a sensation and made a lot of tennis history when she won the French Open. It was her first title of any kind at the WTA Tour level. That’s a very rare thing to happen, winning a Grand Slam as a first trophy. Ostapenko then made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon to prove her run in Paris was no fluke. However, Ostapenko’s season stalled in North America. She did not win more than two matches in Canada, Cincinnati or the U.S. Open. This is where she will try to hit the reset button and get back to her winning ways.
Kiki Bertens went to Nuremberg in May and defended the title she won in 2016. Last year, she reached the French Open semifinals, easily her best Grand Slam event ever. This year, she lost early at Roland Garros and has remained stuck for most of the season. She won the Swiss Open, a small-scale clay event after Wimbledon (which never has a strong field), but has not been able to make any sort of impression at the bigger tournaments. This is a chance for her to make a fall push before 2017 ends.
Kristyna Pliskova is also trying to light a fire under her career. Early in the year, the younger and less known Pliskova sister reached the round of 32 at the Australian Open and Indian Wells but has struggled to gain traction the rest of the year. She has won a few main-draw matches at a number of International tier events, making the final in Prague, but nothing at the Premier level or higher since Indian Wells – she has not won more than one main-draw match (qualifying rounds don’t count) at any higher tournament since her trip to the California desert.
Christina McHale hasn’t made the third round at a Grand Slam event since 2013, and has won more than one main-draw match at only four tournaments. She has reached the round of 16 at four tournaments this year, but none since the start of March. She made one semifinal, at Acapulco, just before Indian Wells. That’s a long time to go without a particularly successful tournament. McHale needs a lift.
Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center
Built in 1986 before the 1988 Summer Olympics came to Seoul, this facility was built for a special event but has carried the added benefit of being able to host a WTA tournament. The main stadium court holds 10,000 spectators. A second show court has a seating capacity of 3,500 people, and a third court can seat 900 people.
Click here to bet on tennis – including all of the major grand slams this season – and many other sports at BetDSI!
