Location Hong Kong
Hong Kong Prize money $250,000 | Surface Hard / Outdoors | |
Venue Victoria Park, Causeway Bay Category WTA International Tournaments Draw 32 Singles /16 Doubles / 24 Qualifying | ||
The Hong Kong Open, (currently sponsored by Prudential and called the Hong Kong Tennis Open), is a WTA International Tier tennis tournament that was resumed from September 8–14, 2014 in Hong Kong.
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Title Sponsorship
On July 3, 2014, it was announced that Prudential Hong Kong would become the tournament's title sponsor to mark the return of elite women’s professional tennis to Hong Kong after two decades. The Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open 2014 took place at the Victoria Park Tennis Stadium from 8–14 September. Among the competitors were: doubles pair Peng Shuai of China and Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki.
Officially sanctioned by the WTA and organized by the Hong Kong Tennis Association, the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open offers a unique sporting lifestyle experience including a tournament village presented by SAVOUR, billed as one of the world’s best food festivals by CNNTravel. The SAVOUR tournament village features signature dishes from some of Hong Kong’s top restaurants, who are joined by renowned chefs from Singapore and the United Kingdom. Visitors may expect complimentary celebrity chef masterclasses, wine workshops, tastings and demonstrations conducted by renowned experts.
History
The Hong Kong Open (also known as the Salem Open) was also previously a men's tennis tournament that was held in Hong Kong on the Grand Prix tour from (1973–1987) and the ATP Tour from (1990–2002). Players competed in the Victoria Park Tennis Centre, on outdoor hard courts. Michael Chang held the record number of wins with three titles.
In 2001, as with legislation restricting tobacco sponsorship, organisers controversially altered its official logo to include the logo of Perrier, causing anti-smoking campaigners to claim that the organisers exploited a loophole in its sponsorship clause.
The men's tournament was replaced in 2003 by the Thailand Open.
A women's competition was also held in Hong Kong briefly, from 1980-1982; and then once more in 1993, as a Tier IV event on the WTA Tour. Wendy Turnbull won two titles in this competition. Hong Kong Tennis Open will again be held as a women's tour calendar in 2014 as a result of the relocation of an International event to Hong Kong from Kuala Lumpur in Week 37 of the season, starting in 2014.