The Taipei Open or Taipei WTA Challenger (Chinese: 台北海碩網球公開賽) was a tournament for female professional tennis players played on indoor carpet courts. The event was classified as a WTA 125 tournament, and held annually in November in Taipei City, from 2008 until 2015, and was sponsored by the OEC Group. In 2012, the event was upgraded from a $100k ITF tournament to a WTA Challenger tournament. Its final edition took place in 2019.
| Taipei WTA Challenger | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Event name | Taipei WTA Challenger |
| Location | Taipei City Taiwan |
| Venue | Taipei Arena |
| Category | WTA 125K series |
| Surface | Carpet - indoors |
| Draw | 32S / 16Q / 16D |
| Prize money | US$125,000 (2019) |
| Website | www |
| Current champions (2019) | |
| Singles |  Vitalia Diatchenko |
| Doubles |  Lee Ya-hsuan Wu Fang-hsien |
History edit
In 2007, OEC Group Chairman Robert Han organized an ITF tournament in Taoyuan where the prize was $50,000 plus hotel.[1][2][3] OEC has retroactively referred to the event as the 2007 OEC Cup Taiwan Ladies Open.[1][4]
In October 18–20, 2008, the OEC Group held the 2008 OEC Taipei Ladies Open, which was a WTA-sanctioned ITF $100,000+H tournament.[5] held at the National Taiwan University Gymnasium and the Taipei Arena.[6][7] In 2010 and 2011, it was called the OEC Taipei Ladies Open, and it was also sometimes referred to as the Haishuo Cup (海碩盃).[1][8][9]
In 2012, the event was upgraded to a WTA 125 event.[5][10] It had attracted over 60,000 visitors.[11] In 2013, the tournament was renamed to OEC Taipei WTA Challenger.[1][12][13][14] and used that name subsequently.[15]
Past finals edit
Singles edit
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ ITF $75k Kaohsiung event ↓ | ||||
| †2006 | Chan Yung-jan |
Hsieh Su-wei |
5–7, 7–6(8–6), 6–0 | |
| ↓ $50k Taoyuan event ↓ | ||||
| 2007 |  Akiko Morigami |
 Yanina Wickmayer |
6–4, 7–6 (7–5) [16] | |
| ↓ $100k+H event ↓ | ||||
| 2008 |  Jarmila Gajdošová |
 Corinna Dentoni |
4–6, 6–4, 6–1 | |
| 2009 | Chan Yung-jan |
Ayumi Morita |
6–4, 2–6, 6–2 | |
| 2010 |  Peng Shuai [17] |
Ayumi Morita |
6–1, 6–4 | |
| 2011 | Ayumi Morita |
Kimiko Date-Krumm |
6–2, 6–2 | |
| ↓ WTA 125 event ↓ | ||||
| 2012 |  Kristina Mladenovic |
Chang Kai-chen |
6–4, 6–3 | |
| 2013 | Alison Van Uytvanck |
Yanina Wickmayer |
6–4, 6–2 | |
| 2014 | Vitalia Diatchenko |
Chan Yung-jan |
1–6, 6–2, 6–4 | |
| 2015 |  Tímea Babos |
Misaki Doi |
7–5, 6–3 | |
| 2016 | Evgeniya Rodina |
Chang Kai-chen |
6–4, 6–3 | |
| 2017 |  Belinda Bencic |
 Arantxa Rus |
7–6(7–3), 6–1 | |
| 2018 |  Luksika Kumkhum |
 Sabine Lisicki |
6–1, 6–3 | |
| 2019 | Vitalia Diatchenko (2) |
Tímea Babos |
6–3, 6–2 | |
| 2020 | cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
† – note: not considered the Taipei Open by some sources
Doubles edit
† – note: not considered the Taipei Open by some sources
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d "Tournament History". Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "Steve Tennis – 50k Taoyuan". Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "ITF $50,000 Taoyuan event". Retrieved 6 December 2015.
- ^ "OEC GROUP". oecgroup.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ a b "OEC Taipei WTA Ladies Open". On Tennis. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
Chinese Taipei is not a traditional tennis heartland, but it is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. And now it has its first WTA-sanctioned tournament, the OEC Taipei WTA Ladies Open, which is staged on the indoor hardcourts of the capital's Taipei Arena. The tournament, an ITF stop between 2008 and 2011 before being upgraded, was the first of the new WTA 125K Series events that launched in the fall of 2012. Capturing the inaugural edition was French teen Kristina Mladenovic, who also was victorious in doubles.
- ^ 應-許景維 (20 July 2009). "Part2 Hosting International Sporting Events". gov.taipei. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ 應-許景維 (6 September 2010). "Part 2 Raising the Level of Competitive Sports to Facilitate International Exchanges". gov.taipei. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ 應-黃惠珍 (26 September 2011). "Part 2 Elevating Competitive Standard and Stimulating". gov.taipei. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ 吳明璇 (3 August 2012). "Part 2 Upgrading Competitiveness Promotes International Exchange". gov.taipei. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "OEC Taipei WTA Ladies Open" (PDF). www.wtatennis.com. Women's Tennis Association. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2013. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ 臺北市政府 (11 December 2013). "Part 2 Implementation of Competitive Sports to Provide more Opportunities for Players". gov.taipei. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "OEC Taipei WTA 125K Series" (PDF). www.wtatennis.com. Women's Tennis Association. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2013. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ "Date-Krumm falls in first round again". upi.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ 年鑑1 (14 August 2014). "Part2 Implementation of Competitive Sports to Provide more Opportunities for Players". gov.taipei. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "台北/高雄海碩盃官方網站". oectennis.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ a b "Archived". www.itftennis.com. International Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-15.[dead link]
- ^ 'China’s Peng claims Taipei Ladies title' (retrieved November 8, 2010)
External links edit
- Official website (in Chinese)
- OEC Taipei WTA Challenger profile at WTATennis.com