INAUGURAL DONGFENG WUHAN OPEN PRAISED BY TOP TENNIS PLAYERS / MARIA SHARAPOVA , GENIE BOUCHARD ( FINALIST ) , VENUS WILLIAMS & MARTINA HINGIS

Written by: Staff on 26th September 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

INAUGURAL DONGFENG WUHAN OPEN PRAISED BY TOP TENNIS PLAYERS / MARIA SHARAPOVA , GENIE BOUCHARD ( FINALIST ) , VENUS WILLIAMS & MARTINA HINGIS

epa04234887 Eugenie Bouchard of Canada scores against Angelique Kerber of Germany in their fourth round match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 01 June 2014. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

2014 DONGFENG MOTOR WUHAN OPEN – WUHAN, CHINA

$ 2,440,070.00

19 – 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

TIDBITS AND PRAISES :

Top players and fans wowed by Wuhan

The world’s best female tennis players have been full of praise for the organisers of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open during a successful inaugural tournament in the central Chinese city.

Crowds flocked to Optical Valley International Tennis Center from 21 to 27 September to see one of the strongest player line-ups ever seen at a WTA Premier 5 event. Nineteen of the world’s top 20 singles players took to the court, including Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Venus Williams, Eugenie Bouchard, local favourite Peng Shuai and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. Five-time Grand Slam champion Martina Hingis, meanwhile, was one of the marquee names in the doubles draw.

Maria Sharapova

“The reception I have received ever since I have come here has been really welcoming.

I think all the players have been very impressed with the facilities and everyone that’s contributed to this tournament. I felt very welcomed from the drivers to the people taking you out on court. Everyone has been super friendly. Facilities themselves I think speak, you know, they speak for itself, because they’re great. And with the new stadium coming, I thought the surface was great. I really enjoyed it.

Eugenie Bouchard

“I really like the surface of the courts here. From my first practice I loved the feel of the courts.”

Eugenie Bouchard of Canada returns to Maria Sharapova of Russia in their semi final match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 05 June 2014. EPA/CAROLINE BLUMBERG

Venus Williams

“A lot of people in the United States don’t know about Wuhan, but I think this will bring a lot of world attention on the city and it deserves it.”

Martina Hingis

“It’s a really beautiful tournament. The volunteers, the staff, the welcome, and the stadium is amazing. I think it’s one of the topnotch tournaments.”

The Wuhan Open is among only five WTA’s top level events outside of the Grand Slams and one of two elite Tour events in China – the other being this week’s upcoming China Open.

Ryan Sandilands, WTA Regional CEO Asia Pacific, said: “The tournament organising committee, led by Mr Yi, and the City of Wuhan Municipal Government have staged an impressive inaugural Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. The feedback from the WTA players on the quality of the facilities and the warm welcome they received was very positive. We’re looking forward to an exciting final day of action and crowning the first Wuhan Open singles and doubles champions.”

The City of Wuhan Municipal Government has invested almost $1 billion on a state-of-the art tennis facility, which will expand even further next year when the 15,000 seat stadium is completed.

Mr Yi, The Tournament Director said: “We’re very happy with our very first Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. The event has been talked about all over the world and we believe that we have really enhanced Wuhan’s reputation globally as a city and as a host for one of the most exciting tournaments on the WTA Tour.”

About the Wuhan Open:

Total prize-money purse of $2,440,070

Runs Sep 21 – Sep 27, 2014 (inclusive)

Played on outdoor hardcourt

One of three WTA events in China new to the calendar in 2014, bringing the total number of tournaments in China to six

One of two (along with Beijing) Premier-level events hosted in China

Premier-level events are the most prestigious events on the WTA Tour

About the WTA:

The WTA is the global leader in women’s professional sport with more than 2,500 players representing 92 nations competing for a record $118 million

in prize money at the WTA’s 54 events and four Grand Slams in 33 countries. Close to 5.4 million people attended women’s tennis events in 2013 with

millions more watching on television and digital channels around the world. The 2014 WTA competitive season concludes with the BNP Paribas WTA

Finals Singapore presented by SC Global October 17-26, 2014 and the Garanti Koza Tournament of Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria, October 28-November

2, 2014. Further information on the WTA can be found at

www.wtatennis.com; facebook.com/WTA and twitter.com/WTA

About the City of Wuhan:

Wuhan is the most populous city in Central China with an overall population of 9.7 million and an urban population of 6.6 million (2012)

Capital of Hubei province

It is the birth place of two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na

It is built on the banks of the iconic River Yangtze

It serves as a gateway – geographically and economically – between East and West China and is known as the “thoroughfare to nine provinces”

It has been described by economists as “China’s economic and geographical centre”

Wuhan is a key intersection in the railway network linking North China, Southwest China, Central-South China and East China and China’s other major cities

Wuhan currently boasts over 10,000 commercial organizations, 105,000 commodity networks, four commercial listed enterprises as well as eight shopping centers, all of which feature on the list of China Top 100 Retail Shopping Centers

It has a complete array of industries, including over 30,000 industrial enterprises of 33 industries such as iron and steel, automobile, equipment manufacturing, petroleum and petrochemical, optoelectronic communication, western and traditional Chinese medicine, biological engineering, textile, clothes, food and, increasingly, sport

Wuhan is also a centre of learning. There are 52 regular institutions of higher learning in Wuhan with over 700,000 students, 736 scientific and design institutes, 10 state key laboratories, 59 Academicians of China Academy of Science and China Academy of Engineering as well as 450,000 technicians of various kinds

Topics: Genie Bouchard, Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, Tennis News, Tennis Results, Wta, Wuhan Open

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September 26, 2014 at 10:37 pm

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