Hong Kong Tennis Open makes long-awaited return – will it spark Ukraine-Russia controversy?
- Tournament back on calendar for the first time in five years, with organisers hoping to boost the city’s recovery after the pandemic
- Event features host of marquee names, including 2018 winner Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, who could meet Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka or one of several Russians
The Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open began on Saturday, with day one of qualifying marking the event’s highly anticipated return to the calendar five years after it was last staged.
The late addition of 2018 winner Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine raised the intriguing possibility of a match against one of the tournament’s several Russians, or Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
Yastremska has previously said she supported a ban for players from Russia, over its invasion of her country, and its ally Belarus – something Wimbledon imposed in 2022 before rowing back on that decision this year.
The home trio of Eudice Chong, Cody Wong Hong-yi and Tiffany Wu will learn their first-round opponents when the main draw is made on Sunday.
Hong Kong’s Maggie Ng, Ching Laam Lai and Che Sin-yu lost qualifying matches at Victoria Park on Saturday. Final qualifying on Sunday will finalise the 32-player field for Monday’s opening round.
The tournament begins three weeks after the resumption of women’s tennis in mainland China following a 16-month boycott by governing body the WTA.
Last year’s Hong Kong Open was a victim of the WTA stay-away, prompted by the saga surrounding Chinese player Peng Shuai, who lodged then withdrew sexual assault allegations against a former senior government official.
The city’s event was named 2018 WTA International Tournament of the Year, but subsequently suffered cancellations because of the 2019 unrest and then Covid-19.
Hong Kong Tennis Association president Philip Mok’s confidence over soon “upgrading” from WTA 250 level to a more prestigious WTA 500 tournament appears well founded, with a host of prominent players again drawn to Hong Kong.
Two-time grand-slam tournament champion Azarenka, the former world No 1, is the tournament’s marquee name.
A strong supporting cast includes 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez and Wang Xiyu, the Chinese left-hander who won last month’s Guangzhou Open. Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, who entered the world’s top 10 after her run to this year’s French Open semi-finals, will also play.
The Hong Kong Tennis Open’s official website does not display the flags of the Belarusian players, nor the Russians, who include Mirra Andreeva, 2017 champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Anna Blinkova. Another Russian, Anastasia Potapova, has withdrawn because of injury.
Elina Svitolina is among the Ukrainian players who have refused to shake hands with Russians or Belarusians. Another Ukrainian, Marta Kostyuk, refused to even meet the eye of Aryna Sabalenka, from Belarus, after a French Open match this year.
Mok was certain the issue would not overshadow the tournament. “They [players] are not coming to promote political messages,” he said. “Everyone is coming as athletes.”
The tournament attracted 71,000 fans in 2018 and Mok insisted its comeback – in advance of a men’s ATP tournament in the city in January – would signpost Hong Kong’s return to global prominence following the pandemic.
“The sports industry needs to play a role in reviving Hong Kong,” he said. “This is a great vehicle to show Hong Kong is back to normal, to attract tourists and revive people’s interests in going to events and spending.”
