The 2016 Tianjin Open is part of a movement to grow the game of tennis in China and East Asia. This is just the 3rd 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 began on Monday, October 10.
Event Details
Event: Tianjin Open
Category: WTA International tier
Date: October 10 – 16, 2016
Location: Tianjin International Tennis Center – Tianjin, China
The 2016 Tianjin Open should be a relatively decent draw, in only the third year of its existence.
With a prize money allotment of $250,000, 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.
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 (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Agnieszka Radwanska def. Danka Kovinic – 6-1, 6-2
2014 – Alison Riske def. Belinda Bencic – 6-3, 6-4
Player Info:
Agneiszka Radwanska has already qualified for the WTA Finals in Singapore but she isn’t in the best of form. At the U.S. Open, she couldn’t progress beyond the fourth round. In the quarterfinals in Wuhan, China, Radwanska had a match point on Svetlana Kuznetsova but couldn’t capitalize the lead and lost a thrilling three-set battle to the Russian. In Tokyo, she was just a game away from a straight sets victory but fell short to Caroline Wozniacki in three close sets. In a rematch at the ongoing China Open, the sharper version of Radwanska showed up, dismissing Wozniacki 6-3, 6-1 in just 81 minutes in the third round. Radwanska, seeded third, has sailed smoothly to the semifinals in Beijing, where she’ll face Elina Svitolina. She is also the highest remaining seed in China and is in good position to win her third title of the season. The fact that she has already qualified for Singapore means that she won’t feel the burden to defend her title in Tianjin.
Svetlana Kuznetsova is still competing for the bigger prizes on the WTA Tour. It’s still difficult to comprehend what kind of form she is in. She had a disappointing U.S. Open but had a very good outing in Wuhan, where she reached the semifinal stage, losing to Dominika Cibulkova in three hotly contested sets. When some more positive results were expected of her in the ongoing tournament in Beijing, she got crushed in straight sets by Madison Keys in the third round. The Russian has had some big wins under her belt but has failed to maintain the consistency that is required from a top athlete. Her 35-18 record this year suggests the inconsistency that has surrounded the hard-hitting Russian throughout her career. Can she recover from an early loss in Beijing and go on a title run in Tianjin?
Timea Bascinszky had to retire against Louisa Chirico when she was down 6-3, 4-3 in Wuhan. In Tokyo, she played the full match but again came up short against Daria Gavrilova. Bacsinszky is generally a very solid player and although she hasn’t quite found her feet this season, she has the unique ability to upset the top seeds of a tournament. Bacsinszky made the Roland Garros quarterfinal this year, but in the rest of the majors, she barely got past the third round. The Swiss No. 1 is ranked 15th in the world and is 30-20 on the year, but form continues to elude her. Bacsinszky is one of the top seeds in Tianjin but the way she has been playing lately, it won’t be hard to bet against her.
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.
