The Hansol Korea Open — the only World Tennis Association (WTA) tour event held in Korea — will be held for the seventh time from Saturday for a nine-day run.
With the goal of attracting more attention, the Korea Tennis Association (KTA) invited many world stars who will compete for the $220,000 prize money.
Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic (now ranked 37th), who captured the Roland Garros title — one of the four grand slams — in 2008 and Dinara Safina (59th) will compete at the Olympic Park in Seoul. Russia’s Maria Kirilenko, who competed in the Hansol Korea Open for last four years, will also appear.
The 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm, who beat then reigning champion Kirilenko in last year’s semifinal, will try to defend the title.
But the No. 1 and No. 2 seed are given to high rankers, Nadia Petrova (19th) and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (25th).
In addition, the 19-year-old rising star Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will join the competition.
Among those participating, Ivanovic is the strongest candidate for the title.
The 23-year-old Russian advanced to the round of 16 in the U.S Open, but lost to eventual champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium.
Korean players Lee Jin-a and Kim So-jung are poised to challenge to be the first Koreans to win the tournament.
“With many world-class players at the tournament, Korean tennis fans will be able to see high-level tennis played on their soil,” Lee Jin-soo, a director of Hansol Korea Open, said.
Tennis stars like Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, and Nicole Vaidisove have claimed the trophy one time but no one has taken the title twice.
The tournament will also include women’s double matches.
Women’s U.S. Open doubles champions Vania King of the United States and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan will likely compete in the tournament as a pair. Petrova, who was a runner-up in the U.S. Open in the doubles and Martinez Sanchez, who is ranked 11th in doubles standings, will also play.
In Korea, about 700,000 people play tennis, with many doubles competitions for amateurs due mainly to a lack of space.
“The seventh Hansol Korea Open is expected to provide people with the chance to enjoy seeing world stars,” Lee said.
With the goal of attracting more attention, the Korea Tennis Association (KTA) invited many world stars who will compete for the $220,000 prize money.
Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic (now ranked 37th), who captured the Roland Garros title — one of the four grand slams — in 2008 and Dinara Safina (59th) will compete at the Olympic Park in Seoul. Russia’s Maria Kirilenko, who competed in the Hansol Korea Open for last four years, will also appear.
The 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm, who beat then reigning champion Kirilenko in last year’s semifinal, will try to defend the title.
But the No. 1 and No. 2 seed are given to high rankers, Nadia Petrova (19th) and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (25th).
In addition, the 19-year-old rising star Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will join the competition.
Among those participating, Ivanovic is the strongest candidate for the title.
The 23-year-old Russian advanced to the round of 16 in the U.S Open, but lost to eventual champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium.
Korean players Lee Jin-a and Kim So-jung are poised to challenge to be the first Koreans to win the tournament.
“With many world-class players at the tournament, Korean tennis fans will be able to see high-level tennis played on their soil,” Lee Jin-soo, a director of Hansol Korea Open, said.
Tennis stars like Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, and Nicole Vaidisove have claimed the trophy one time but no one has taken the title twice.
The tournament will also include women’s double matches.
Women’s U.S. Open doubles champions Vania King of the United States and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan will likely compete in the tournament as a pair. Petrova, who was a runner-up in the U.S. Open in the doubles and Martinez Sanchez, who is ranked 11th in doubles standings, will also play.
In Korea, about 700,000 people play tennis, with many doubles competitions for amateurs due mainly to a lack of space.
“The seventh Hansol Korea Open is expected to provide people with the chance to enjoy seeing world stars,” Lee said.
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