Tennis fans are to have the opportunity to see seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams and several other top professional female tennis players from around the world compete at the Taiwan Open, which is to begin in Kaohsiung on Feb. 6.
It is to be the second tournament that the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has held in Taiwan, with the first being held in 1994. The tournament this time is to be the highest level of professional tennis that the nation has ever held, in either men’s and women’s categories.
Apart from Williams, who is listed No. 7 in the WTA rankings, there are 11 other players in the main draw who are in the top 100, including Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan (No. 52); Misaki Doi of Japan (No. 54); Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia (No. 65); Zheng Saisai (鄭賽賽) of China (No. 72); Yulia Putinseva of Kazakhstan (No. 77); Kurumi Nara of Japan (No. 81); and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia (No. 83), among others.
Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇), who is ranked No. 93, is the only Taiwanese player in the top 100. Another Taiwanese player in the main draw is Chang Kai-chen (張凱貞), who is ranked No. 134.
Taiwanese sisters Chan Yung-jan (詹詠然) and Chan Hao-ching (詹皓晴) are to compete in the doubles, while Taiwanese player, Lee Ya-hsuan (李亞軒), who is ranked No. 220 and is to compete in the 2017 Summer Universiade, has a chance to compete as a wild-card entrant.
Fabrice Choquet is the executive vice president of APG Sports Media, which is organizing the event.
He said the quality of the players in the tournament is remarkable, which includes marquee players, WTA rising stars and local players.
The player lineup “guarantees a high level of tennis,” he said, adding that tennis fans in Taiwan have a chance to cheer for their favorite Taiwanese players.
APG Sports Media said that the total prize money for the tournament is US$500,000, which covers the food and accommodation costs of the players.
Tickets go on sale today at 12pm on baohan.tixcraft.com/activity.
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