Opinion | Eugenie Bouchard coup a good omen
City's new tennis tournament getting off to a strong start by signing exciting young Canadian talent to play at Victoria Park
There must be something working in our favour to be able to attract a young talent like Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who this week confirmed she will be at Victoria Park in early September to play at the Hong Kong Tennis Open.
Quebec native Bouchard will face a long journey from New York to make it in time for her first-round match. Judging by her recent form at grand slam events, it might well end up as a race against time for her as Hong Kong's return to the world of professional tennis is scheduled for the week following the last major of the year.
Bouchard has reached the semi-finals in both grand slam tournaments this year - the Australian Open and the French Open, where she finished up a gallant loser in three sets to Maria Sharapova (4-6, 7-5, 6-2) - and there is nothing to say that the hottest player on the circuit so far this season might not reach the latter stages of the US Open.
If this event is a success, the chances are that a few years down the line we could even see a men's ATP tournament coming to town. The government is receptive to the idea
The 20-year-old does not only have looks on her side; she is also armed with a tenacious game which has seen her world ranking climb to 16, something which is bound to go higher after her exploits at Roland Garros. She will bring a dash of glamour to Victoria Park and is bound to be a crowd favourite.
Herbert Chow Siu-lung, president of the Hong Kong Tennis Association, said snaring the exuberant Bouchard was a major coup for tournament organisers. He is dead right. Although relatively unknown, Bouchard has all the right ingredients to become the next big thing in women's tennis and her string of successes at the first two slams this season point to her being a future champion.
Chow revealed their target is to make the Hong Kong WTA International Series the "most glamorous and prestigious" tournament in the world.
There are 32 International Series tournaments, which, in the bigger picture, is one of the lower rungs in the WTA hierarchy, with the apex the season-ending US$4.9 million WTA Tour Championship, which Singapore has netted. Hong Kong is small fry, with prize money of US$250,000 only allowing for one top-10 player in the 32-strong singles draw.