The Taiwan Open gets underway Jan. 27, bringing together around 70 of the world’s top women tennis players to battle for US$250,000 in prize money over nine days in Taipei City.
Sanctioned by the Women’s Tennis Association, the open will see homegrown stars contest the highly coveted singles and doubles crowns. These include fan favorites Chan Hao-ching, the tournament’s reigning doubles champion, as well as veteran Hsieh Su-wei and rising talent Lee Ya-hsuan.
Chan, who won the open’s doubles in 2016 and 2017 alongside her sister Chan Yung-jan, will partner with Hungary’s Timea Babos—currently No. 7 in the WTA doubles rankings. WTA singles No. 4 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine is also set to return and defend her 2017 tournament title.
No effort has been spared in ensuring the open is on par in terms of organization and player conditions with the world’s highest-profile tournaments, the Sports Administration under the Ministry of Education said, adding that it also elevates Taiwan’s status as a premier destination in Asia for major sporting events.
As an indication of the growing popularity of the open with Taiwan sports fans, all of the tournament’s matches will be broadcast live for the first time on local TV and the internet. Coverage is also available in over 120 countries and territories, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Singapore, Malaysia, the U.K. and U.S.
In addition, a number of special promotional activities like autograph signing sessions and fan meets are scheduled on the sidelines of the open, according to the administration.
The inaugural edition of the tournament was held three years ago in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City. Top seed Venus Williams of the U.S. defeated No. 2 seed Misaki Doi of Japan 6-4, 6-2 to claim the singles title. (KWS-E)
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