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The ninth edition of the women's tournament at the Hong Kong Open will get underway on October 9.
Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska won the WTA 250 tournament when it was last held in 2018. After a subsequent four-year absence from the main tour, the event returns to enthrall tennis fans once again.
What is the Hong Kong Open?
The Hong Kong Open is a hardcourt tournament that is a part of the WTA 250 series. The inaugural edition of the women's singles competition at the event took place in 1980 when Australia's Wendy Turnbull defeated USA's Marcie Louie in straight sets to clinch the title.
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The tournament was won by Turnbull again the following year, making her the only female player to have won multiple titles at the tournament to date. The likes of Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, and Sabine Lisicki also won the event in the recent past.
It is pertinent to note that the women's competition at the tournament was not held from 1983 to 92 and again from 1994 to 2013.
Venue
The Victoria Park Tennis Stadium in Hong Kong is the venue for the WTA 250 tournament.
Players
Former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka and World No. 19 Beatriz Haddad Maia lead the field at the Hong Kong Open as the top two seeds. Both players have endured a rough patch of results lately and will be keen on going deep at the event.
While Azarenka has lost 18 of her 41 matches on the WTA tour this year, Haddad Maia has compiled an even more lackluster win-loss record of 29-21. They will be joined by top 30 players Anastasia Potapova and Elise Mertens as the top four seeds at the tournament
Potapova is in dire form as she has lost eight of her last 11 matches dating back to July. Likewise, Mertens has also not put together spectacular results, though the Belgian veteran has suffered from a host of injuries recently.
Wang Xinyu, Sloane Stephens, Anna Blinkova and Martina Trevisan are the other seeded players at the tournament this year.
Schedule
The main draw action will start on October 9 with first-round matches in the women's singles event. The quarterfinals are scheduled to be held on October 13, while the semifinals are set to be played on October 14.
The championship match, meanwhile, will take place on October 15.
Prize Money
The total prize pool for the WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong is $259,303, with the singles champion pocketing $34,228 in prize money.
(Total prize money breakdown will be provided when available)
Where to watch Hong Kong Open 2023
Viewers in the US, Australia, UK, and Canada can watch the 2023 Hong Kong Open live on the following channels and sites:
USA: All matches will be broadcast on Tennis Channel.
UK: Fans in the UK can watch the proceedings at the WTA 250 event live on Amazon Prime Video.
Australia: All matches will be telecast on beIN Sports.
Canada: Viewers in Canada can watch all the matches on TSN.
