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China returns to WTA calendar in autumn after four years

China returns to WTA calendar in autumn after four years

China's Peng Shuai in action at the Madrid Open on May 6, 2018. (File photo: Reuters/Susana Vera)

ST PETERSBURG, Florida: China returns to the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) autumn calendar after a four-year absence with seven tournaments in the mainland and Hong Kong confirmed on Friday (Jun 2).

With the exception of last year's Beijing Winter Olympics, which took place in a "bubble", most global sport halted in China after the COVID-19 pandemic emerged there in late 2019.

The WTA had also suspended events in China for 16 months until last April in the wake of a sexual assault claim by Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.

On Friday, the WTA announced the 2023 autumn calendar "outlining the tournaments that will take place following the US Open through to the WTA Finals" which takes place in the Chinese city of Shenzhen from Oct 30.

The Guangzhou event will be the first tournament in China starting the week of Sep 18.

It will be followed by Ningbo from Sep 25 with the China Open in Beijing from Oct 2, which is one of two WTA 1000 events scheduled along with Guadalajara from Sep 18.

Zhengzhou will be included in WTA 500 events from Oct 9 along with San Diego and Tokyo, which both take place in September.

Guangzhou, Ningbo, Hong Kong (Oct 9) and Nanchang (Oct 16) are among WTA 250 tournaments, along with Osaka, Seoul and Monastir.

In addition, the WTA Elite Trophy second-tier tournament takes place in Zhuhai in China from Oct 23.

The WTA said that along with the tournaments confirmed on Friday "continual expansion of WTA 125 events across several continents with an updated schedule released in the coming weeks".

Source: AFP/kg

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