Hong Kong Open bosses target world’s best, after tournament included on provisional WTA schedule
- New schedule has Hong Kong Open taking place between October 14 and 23
- Women’s Tennis Association event set to return to city for first time since 2018
Women’s professional tennis is expected to return to Hong Kong in 2023, and organisers said they would invite the world’s best to a tournament that has been graced by the likes of Venus Williams and Naomi Osaka in previous years.
The city has been listed on a provisional WTA schedule for the year, with the Hong Kong Open pencilled in for between October 14 and 23.
Cancelled in 2019 because of the political unrest in the city, the Hong Kong Open was then left off the schedule in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
On the back of the successful Hong Kong International Tennis Challenge over Christmas, which saw the return of a men’s exhibition tournament for the first time in 20 years, Hong Kong tennis chief Philip Mok Kwan-yat said he would invite top players for the city’s WTA250 event.
“Once the WTA confirms the calendar, I’ll start inviting some of the ‘big names’ to come,” Mok said. “We did that in previous editions, and as you can see, the packed stadium was filled with fans.”
The high-profile WTA International Series event, now a WTA250 one, restarted in September 2014, and was named the WTA International Tournament of the Year four years later.
Previous editions have seen the likes of Williams, Jenlena Jankovic, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniak, among the former world No 1s to play in the city.
Naomi Osaka, who has won four Grand Slam titles, the most recent of which was the Australian Open in 2021, was invited to compete in 2017 and 2018. Despite withdrawing because of a back injury in 2018, she still travelled to Hong Kong to meet with local fans, pose for photos, and sign autographs.