The 2017 Tianjin Open is part of a movement to grow the game of tennis in China and East Asia. This is just the fourth edition of the Tianjin Open. China is fast blossoming as a tennis hub. There are now six WTA-level tournaments in China. The lucrative tournament attracts some of world’s best tennis players. Premier-level events are found in Wuhan and Beijing. International-level events exist in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Tianjin.
The competition in the 32-player main draw begins on Monday, October 9.
Event Details
Event: Tianjin Open
Category: WTA International tier
Date: October 9 – 15, 2017
Location: Tianjin International Tennis Center – Tianjin, China
The 2017 Tianjin Open should be a relatively decent draw, in only the fourth year of its existence.
With a prize money allotment of $426,750, this is a tournament which can give a final pocketbook boost to the players who do not have a realistic chance of qualifying for the WTA Finals. This is part of the Asian swing, but only the top eight players in the world get to the WTA Finals in Singapore later this month.
Points
Champion – 280
Runner-up – 180
Semifinal – 110
Quarterfinal – 60
Round of 16 – 30
Former Champions and Results (3 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016 – Peng Shuai def. Alison Riske – 7-6, 6-2
2015 – Agnieszka Radwanska def. Danka Kovinic – 6-1, 6-2
2014 – Alison Riske def. Belinda Bencic – 6-3, 6-4
Player Info:
Caroline Garcia is the hottest player on the WTA Tour. The winner of her first Premier 5 championship in Wuhan, Garcia then reached the quarterfinals of the Premier Mandatory event in Beijing (and is still alive in the tournament with a chance to go further into the draw). Everything about her game is clicking. It is widely acknowledged that she had the shots to do a lot of damage, but is finally putting the pieces together. She will try to keep everything moving in the right direction at this event, with a chance of making the WTA Finals in Singapore. She is trying to catch Jo Konta for the eighth and final spot in the field. On the year, she is 45-20 in all matches. She was 6-2 on grass and 12-6 on clay, but she was 26-11 on the hard courts.
Petra Kvitova just defeated Caroline Wozniacki, 6-1 and 6-4, in Beijing. She is serving notice that in 2018, after an offseason in which she can rest and recover, she can be a force on tour. Kvitova has already surpassed expectations in 2017 simply by playing after the knife attack which almost severed a few fingers and (beyond that) took her life. The fact that she has played well is a bonus. It is also an inspiration for fellow WTA players and for fans around the world.
Peng Shuai had her knee wrapped heavily on Thursday in Beijing, where she had to retire early in a match against Jelena Ostapenko. It is a question if Peng will even be able to compete in this event, which would be a disappointment to home-nation fans. She has had a relatively successful campaign in the 2017 season. She is 36-21 on the year. While she struggled on clay (3-4) and was so-so on grass (4-2), she has done well on the hard courts (25-14). That’s a potentially encouraging sign for her prospects this week.
Donna Vekic lost a long third set to Jo Konta at Wimbledon after coming extremely close to winning. She made the round of 32 at the U.S. Open and clearly shows she is capable of doing good things on court. At 21, she still has time to learn how to improve, but that pressure to develop will grow in the coming months and years. Big results at tournaments such as this one will give her the confidence to evolve as a tennis player. She’s had a rough go of things this year, going 16-19 overall. She was just 1-3 on clay and is 6-11 on hard courts. He strength is the grass where she is a healthy 6-2.
Tianjin International Tennis Center
The facility has a 3,500-seat stadium court and a 12-court facility which hosts this five-round, 32-player tournament. Obviously, they’re going to be roaring extra loud when the locals are playing. It’s a cozy facility and that should give the Chinese players a small boost.
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