Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova are confirmed early entries into the Shenzhen Open. The two finalists at the WTA Finals are likely to be the top seeds at the event. Eugenie Bouchard of Canada is also one of the names down as an early entry. The tournament takes place in the opening week of the season along with the ASB Classic, Brisbane International, and Hopman Cup. Radwanska and Kvitova will also play in Sydney the week after.
Kvitova Returns For Her Second Straight Year
The Czech number one returns for a second consecutive year to China as she prepares to warmup for the Australian Open. This year, Kvitova steamrolled her way to three easy wins before meeting Timea Bacsinszky in the semifinals. Bacsinszky took out the Czech in straight sets before losing to Simona Halep in the final.
Radwanska Chooses Points Over Hopman Cup Glory
Last year, Poland won the Hopman Cup title in Perth. The team consisted of Radwanska and Jerzy Janowicz, and they defeated the United States team of Serena Williams and John Isner to take the title. This year, Poland has chosen to not defend their exhibition team title meaning both of their players are off to play in warmup tournaments for points.
Bouchard Unsure Of The Australian Open
After the whole US Open saga, Bouchard is unsure if she’ll be headed to Melbourne Park for the Australian Open. She is embattled in a lawsuit against the USTA over the fall in which both sides want a trial by jury. Bouchard said the USTA was negligent and is seeking unspecified damages, but the USTA hit back claiming that her social media presence makes it quite odd that she is still stating she is injured.
The Canadian is unsure if she’ll make be playing in the Australian Open after her comments to the Toronto TV news station CP24. She said she did not want to make any early commitments to tournaments for next year, so as an early entry, she can still pull her name out of the tournament before the draw comes out.