[Wiggly]

Potential WTA tournament to clash with ASB Classic
Matt Brown

Auckland's ASB Tennis Classic could be starved of a top quality field with a new tournament set to start in China in January.

The Auckland tournament has consistently attracted a bumper lineup ahead of the Australian Open, but that looks set to change ion 2013.

The WTA is expected to approve a tournament in Shenzen to compete with Auckland and the Brisbane event which has gone up to Premier status.

ASB Classic tournament director Karl Budge admits there is fact behind the rumours, but he believes the new tournament will have its work cut out.

"There's a lot of boxes to get ticked in a very short space of time. I know how close to the tournament we're getting and how much work there is to do. At least we're coming from a background of having put this tournament on for a number of years."

Budge says many of the leading players would rather play an outdoor event in summer ahead of the Australian Open, than a Northern Hemisphere tournament indoors.

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/arti...h-asb-classic/


*****

There was an TBA on the 2013 calendar and it appears the WTA will make its debut in Shenzhen.
Any thoughts? The city is extremely close to Guangzhou and we all know how that turned out.

I was expecting a new event in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur to be moved.

[Xepher]

Shenzhen is not a bad idea

[Linguae^]

Vultures.

[M.P]

Shenzen, is it n CHina?? close to us

[Матвей.]

Having three tournaments in one week is a dreadful idea, let alone in the prime run-up week to a Slam.

[cowsonice]

Thankfully it's near Hong Kong so the weather won't be too bad.

[Xepher]

Originally Posted by cowsonice

Thankfully it's near Hong Kong so the weather won't be too bad.

but more or less polluted.

[spiceboy]

I was in Shenzhen once. I took the subway from Hong Kong and it took me like half an hour to get there. So it would be an ideal stopover for all the players coming from Europe.

[spiceboy]

Originally Posted by Wiggly

Budge says many of the leading players would rather play an outdoor event in summer ahead of the Australian Open, than a Northern Hemisphere tournament indoors.

Yeah right, like we don't know how summer in Auckland is
Weather at the same time in Shenzhen/Hong Kong is definetely more "summer" than in Auckland.

[PhilePhile]

Maybe a WTA Challenger Tour event? A tennis stadium just recently completed in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region:

[Trigo]

Originally Posted by Матвей.

Having three tournaments in one week is a dreadful idea, let alone in the prime run-up week to a Slam.

Usually I'm all against 3 tournaments in a week...
But I think that the first week of the calendar is exactly the one week that could handle it.

It seems like everybody wants to play the weeks before AO.
Look at the cut-off:
Brisbane: 72 for Main Draw, 175 for Qualifying
Auckland: 71 for Main Draw, 175 for Qualifying

(I dont know how Kris Plyskova in Auckland and ChiChi Scholl in Brisbane are BOTH ranked 175 at the draws for the same week... But they are!)

Anyway, a lot of girls could benefit from a third tournament.
Specially girls who could play at AO-Q and decide not to travel all the way to the other side of the globe because "it could be just one match".

[spiceboy]

Some years ago they used to hold Brisbane and Yakarta the first week of the year. Being Yakarta a 56 players draw, just like Birmingham.

[Lin Lin]

No one cares tennis in Shenzhen I think

[Wiggly]

Spectacular stadium in Nanning.

Here's the best image I could find of Shenzhen's stadium :



Right next to the Universiade facilities.

[Xepher]

Originally Posted by Lin Lin

No one cares tennis in Shenzhen I think

Rude I can go to SZ because HK and SZ are dead close