Published: 17:03, August 16, 2024
Former US Open champion Raducanu, Olympic medalist Wang to play in HK Open
By Xinhua
Wang Xinyu of China hits a return during the women's singles first round match against Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria at 2024 Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, April 24, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

HONG KONG - Former US Open women's singles champion Emma Raducanu and Paris Olympics mixed doubles silver medalist Wang Xinyu will play the WTA Hong Kong Open in October, the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association (HKCTA) announced here on Friday.

Raducanu, ranked 71st in the world, and Wang Xinyu, the world No. 41, will be joined by defending champion Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Guangzhou Open titlist Wang Xiyu in the WTA 250 tournament.

World No. 6 Andrey Rublev of Russia has agreed to defend his title in the ATP250 tournament.

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Emma Raducanu of Britain plays a forehand return to Maria Sakkari of Greece during their third round match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on July 5, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

HKCTA president Michael Cheng said a new WTA 125 event will be added to the tennis calendar, making the Hong Kong Open a three-tournament fixture.

The WTA125 tournament will be held from Sept 30 to Oct 6, the WTA250 event will take place from Oct 26 to Nov 3, and the ATP250 fixture has been scheduled from Dec 29 to Jan 5 next year.

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"Hong Kong has the distinction of being only one of three cities in Asia, aside from Beijing and Tokyo, to stage both an ATP and WTA Tour event," said Cheng. "The introduction of a WTA 125 event to Hong Kong this year provides an exciting new competitive opportunity for our elite local women players, along with other 'rising stars' in the region and internationally."