Article: "How Disastrous 2014 Wuhan Open Will Affect The WTA"

[AngieB]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2210884-how-disastrous-2014-wuhan-open-will-affect-the-wta

How Disastrous 2014 Wuhan Open Will Affect The WTA

The 2014 Wuhan Open was supposed to be the sort of coming-out party for the WTA's revved-up Asian swing of the tour. Instead, the tournament got off to a disastrous start.

In its first year, this tournament offered $2,440,070 in prize money as a premier-level event. With a state-of-art tennis facility, Wuhan was supposed to showcase the commitment Asian cities are making to hosting professional tennis tournaments.

According to players, people in the host city have been gracious and welcoming. The facilities are top-notch. Yet, circumstances, those out of the hands of tournament organizers, have raised questions about the future of this tournament and the WTA's push to expand in the Asian market.

On the eve on the tournament, China's most successful tennis player, Li Na, announced her retirement. Li is the reason the WTA came to Wuhan, her hometown.

Maria Sharapova admitted to SI.com that she was unfamiliar with Wuhan. "I think I had to Google the world map to find [Wuhan’s] location...But then I heard that it was Li Na's hometown so it made sense."

Li told ESPN how disappointed she was that she could not play in the inaugural Wuhan Open. "After the surgery in July, I tried very hard to recover, hoping I can make it to participate in tennis matches in China especially the Wuhan Tennis Open which is the first ever big tennis match in my hometown."

Soon after Li announced her retirement, former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka withdrew and announced that she was done for the year. To make matters worse, Chinese No. 2 and U.S. Open semifinalist Shuai Peng lost her opening-round match.

In the second round, Serena Williams, who had received a bye, retired in the first set, siting a viral illness. Williams told reporters she "felt dizzy and nauseous in the first set and unfortunately couldn't continue."

Jelena Jankovic retired with a bad back. Ana Ivanovic retired with a thigh injury. Sharapova was upset by a qualifier.

Two other players contracted viral illnesses, including No. 14 Lucie Safarova. Garbine Muguruza, who defeated No. 2 Simona Halep in the second round, withdrew before her third-round match due to gastroenteritis.

Apparently, something, perhaps Wuhan's high humidity, was taking its toll on players.

Wuhan replaces Tokyo as a premier-level event. The year-end championships will be played in Singapore. All of a sudden, top players are being asked to spend nearly two months in Asia after a summer in North America. Some players have voiced concern about the grueling schedule.

Prior to her match, Williams spoke to reporters about the challenges that arise with the new Asian swing. "I'm still trying to figure it out between this week and next week and then two open weeks and then the Championships. So it's going to be a little tricky, but I'm going to try to figure it out."

Meanwhile, players are trying to get used to the extended stay in Asia. China's ban on Twitter and Facebook has not been easy for social media-savvy players.

Players also seemed to struggle with translations during press conferences. Some things certainly have gotten lost. The following exchange came from the transcript of a Wuhan Open press conference with Alize Cornet.

"Q. (Through translation.) I know you come from a family background, very well‑off family. So what is your driving force for playing so many tournaments?
ALIZE CORNET: If it's ‑‑what is the question, if it's tough to be away from home?

Q. (Through translation.) You come from a very rich family.
ALIZE CORNET: A very what?

Q. (Through translation.) Very well off.
ALIZE CORNET: Well off? What does it mean?
THE MODERATOR: Wealthy.
ALIZE CORNET: Rich, me? No, this is not a good person (smiling).
I am not going to say my family is poor, but I'm not coming from a rich family. I'm coming from a very moderate family. And I don't get the question, but it's fine (smiling).”


According to SI.com, the Wuhan Sport Development and Investment Company has a 15-year contract to run the tournament. This means at least that the organization is committed for the long haul.

Any tournament in its first year will have issues to iron out. But the Wuhan mishaps are about more than tournament organizing. By most accounts, the tournament is well organized. However, the difficulties experienced by players must be monitored.

How many top-tier players will want to risk burnout with no Grand Slam left on the calendar? How will these extra tournaments influence the race to Singapore?

Perhaps the WTA will consider tweaking the schedule to make the Asian swing more player friendly. As it stands, the semifinals are set. The 2014 Wuhan Open will come to a close this weekend. Questions about its future will linger.

#PTL

AngieB

 

[ScottleeSV]

What utter nonsense.

The top seeds can't succeed all the time or it would be a dull sport. And you've still got a Kvitova/Bouchard final at the end of it all (a fine match up on a hard court).

As for the heat, adding a couple of hours onto the start times might help. Were these people even at Wimbledon a year or two ago, when dozens pulled out?

It really does my head in when, supposedly, organizers 'have a headache' whenever a top star goes out. Do you think pros like Cornet and Baczinsky want to hear that the organizers of tournaments are annoyed about their achievements? It's ludicrous and disrespectful. By all means secretly want top stars in the final, but never moan out loud when it doesn't happen.

 

[TheMusicLover]

It really does my head in when, supposedly, organizers 'have a headache' whenever a top star goes out. Do you think pros like Cornet and Baczinsky want to hear that the organizers of tournaments are annoyed about their achievements? It's ludicrous and disrespectful. By all means secretly want top stars in the final, but never moan out loud when it doesn't happen.

Well said.

Organizers being disgruntled at top dogs/cash cows not making it to (the final of) their tournament should immediately quit organizing actual tournaments. Perhaps the exho business would suit them better.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

Completely agree with the two previous posters. Is having a repeat of the WIMBLEDON final a bad thing? Seriously...

 

[JJGUY]

I read the article, but this is all speculation from the writer, there is no complaint from the organizer themselves. I have no doubt the organizer would have hoped Li could play or the top seeds hang on much longer, but this is tennis and women's tennis, it's unrealistic to expect all seeds safely through to the quarters, semis or finals, that rarely happened in WTA. They signed up this tournament for the long run, they should have known better - hope for the best but prepare for the worst, now they have the "worst", should they worry about it? yes they should but they should not read too much into those "misfortunes", after all this is the first year, bumps on the road are expected, it can only get better from now on.

Also the woes of twitter and facebook inaccurate, I follow a lot players on the social media, they have no trouble posting tweets and selfies in China, but we all know the players they are only active after winning matches, once they lost, they went MIA

 

[chicagodude]

It really does my head in when, supposedly, organizers 'have a headache' whenever a top star goes out. Do you think pros like Cornet and Baczinsky want to hear that the organizers of tournaments are annoyed about their achievements? It's ludicrous and disrespectful. By all means secretly want top stars in the final, but never moan out loud when it doesn't happen.

From the article above, I don't read anything about organizers complaining. Instead, it's just the writer of the article who concludes that the losses/retirements of a bunch of top players is a disaster for the tournament.
As it played out, there were 2 fine SF matches and a great rematch of the WM final to top it off. Wimbledon 2013 had a much worse later part of the tourney by comparison (in terms of top players that is).

Furthermore, the author makes a completely baseless assumption that players are 'apparently' affected by something related to the tournament being in Wuhan. It's just as likely that at this point in the season, many players are simply likely to be hampered by nagging injuries.

As for the translation, well from the transcript it's hard to judge, but if things were said in those exact English phrases to Cornet, it seems more related to her English skills than anything else...No idea what that has to do with the tournament itself...

Pretty poor article IMO

 

[AngieB]

While some might not like how the article was written, the subject matter does deserve scrutiny. Everyone was surprised how many top players stumbled early.

In terms of it being an inaugural premier event, it was an epic fail which is why there might be initial skepticism. The entire tournament was created for Li and she retired having never swung a racquet in the place. It went downhill from there.

While it is understandable why the WTA wants to penetrate the Asian market, whether or not the players are durable enough to sustain this leg of the tour remains to be seen. It might not be appealing for some of the players to stay in Asia for weeks on end for many reasons; language barrier being one.

Asia might be an area where the WTA is being too aggressive and optimistic in regards to the players support of this swing of the tour. We will see in the coming events how many of the top players are "healthy" enough to play this fall.

#PTL

AngieB

 

[JJGUY]

what are you talking here? The tournament may be "new" but only for the people in Wuhan, it's definitely not new to the players, they have been playing in the same tight 3-week schedule (International - Premier 5 - Premier 5 Mandatory) for almost a decade now in Asia. The only thing changed this year is the premier 5 event moved from Tokyo to Wuhan, nothing else changed. You may argue Wuhan is a new city and it's a new stadium for the players to adjust, that's fine, the organizers can certainly learn something it's the first year for them too. But to blame Wuhan Open for all the issues is completely unfounded. Wuhan Open didn't create a new premier 5 event from nowhere, neither did they change any existing schedule. WTA created the Asia swing, and they did it 10 years ago. And I have to ask why it only becomes an "issue" this year and it needs to be closely examined under the microscope. I think I know the answer, China phobia is nothing new. Certain minded people and reporters just can't accept it. Well too bad for them, the world has changed and other people move on, if they want to live in the past, well they sure can and I say good luck to them on all the old time they will have to miss endearingly.

Wuhan Open did not create any new problems, if there are some existing problems, they are not the one to blame. Instead, the new location gives the players a slightly added convenience, at least they do not have to fly international from Tokyo to catch China Open in the last minute. I checked, flying from Wuhan to Beijing only takes 1 hour and 40 minutes, that's a plus if you ask me.

While some might not like how the article was written, the subject matter does deserve scrutiny. Everyone was surprised how many top players stumbled early.

In terms of it being an inaugural premier event, it was an epic fail which is why there might be initial skepticism. The entire tournament was created for Li and she retired having never swung a racquet in the place. It went downhill from there.

While it is understandable why the WTA wants to penetrate the Asian market, whether or not the players are durable enough to sustain this leg of the tour remains to be seen. It might not be appealing for some of the players to stay in Asia for weeks on end for many reasons; language barrier being one.

Asia might be an area where the WTA is being too aggressive and optimistic in regards to the players support of this swing of the tour. We will see in the coming events how many of the top players are "healthy" enough to play this fall.

#PTL

AngieB

 

[ScottleeSV]

Completely agree with JJguy.

Might also be worth noting that Williams, Sharapova, and Halep did not choose to play a warm up event in Tokyo prior to these two 'bigger ones'. Perhaps they could have benefited from that (Sharapova and Halep in particular, who simply looked rusty).

 

[AngieB]

what are you talking here? The tournament may be "new" but only for the people in Wuhan, it's definitely not new to the players, they have been playing in the same tight 3-week schedule (International - Premier 5 - Premier 5 Mandatory) for almost a decade now in Asia. The only thing changed this year is the premier 5 event moved from Tokyo to Wuhan, nothing else changed. .

Did you not read the article? Just an FYI, the WTA Year End Championships will be played for the first time in Asia (Singapore) 2014-2018

"Wuhan replaces Tokyo as a premier-level event. The year-end championships will be played in Singapore. All of a sudden, top players are being asked to spend nearly two months in Asia after a summer in North America. Some players have voiced concern about the grueling schedule.

Prior to her match, Williams spoke to reporters about the challenges that arise with the new Asian swing. "I'm still trying to figure it out between this week and next week and then two open weeks and then the Championships. So it's going to be a little tricky, but I'm going to try to figure it out."

Meanwhile, players are trying to get used to the extended stay in Asia. China's ban on Twitter and Facebook has not been easy for social media-savvy players."

#PTL

AngieB

 

[ScottleeSV]

Two months? Eh?

Let's say they play Tokyo (which many did not!), that's three weeks to the end of China, then back home for almost two weeks, then back to Asia for the tour finals. That's four weeks total spent in Asia. Possibly five weeks allowing for a few days acclimatization here and there. So that's maybe five weeks (six absolutely frigging tops, and that's allowing for day outings along the Great Wall). It certainly is not two months!

And besides, the amount of money they're earning out there, cry me a fecking river.

 

[AngieB]

Two months? Eh?

Let's say they play Tokyo (which many did not!), that's three weeks to the end of China, then back home for almost two weeks, then back to Asia for the tour finals. That's four weeks total spent in Asia. Possibly five weeks allowing for a few days acclimatization here and there. So that's maybe five weeks (six absolutely frigging tops, and that's allowing for day outings along the Great Wall). It certainly is not two months!

And besides, the amount of money they're earning out there, cry me a fecking river.

The addition of YEC Singapore complicates the schedule of the players. We well might see similar withdraws from Tokyo and Wuhan in the future. I don't think the top players are excited to be spending this much time in Asia after playing the North American hard court season. While expanding the Asian tour with the addition of the YEC might be welcomed by the WTA, it will give the lower-ranked players an opportunity to accumulate ranking points.

Players party Wuhan. Missing is Serena, Maria and Eugenie in the photo. What does that tell you?

At the players' party in Wuhan
​

#PTL

AngieB

 

[Vanhool]

Two months? Eh?

Let's say they play Tokyo (which many did not!), that's three weeks to the end of China, then back home for almost two weeks, then back to Asia for the tour finals. That's four weeks total spent in Asia. Possibly five weeks allowing for a few days acclimatization here and there. So that's maybe five weeks (six absolutely frigging tops, and that's allowing for day outings along the Great Wall). It certainly is not two months!

And besides, the amount of money they're earning out there, cry me a fecking river.

Nobody in their right mind is going home between Beijing and Singapore unless they live in the region. I've done the China-CA trip many times and the jetlag is brutal...it would be a huge disadvantage. A vacation in Thailand or elsewhere in asia would be the thing to do.

 

[JJGUY]

it tells us you are not a fan of China, or Asia as a whole, and we already know that.

Instead of wasting time here on China bashing, why not go to change.org to start a "bring WTA back to USA" petition, they may listen to you.

The addition of YEC Singapore complicates the schedule of the players. We well might see similar withdraws from Tokyo and Wuhan in the future. I don't think the top players are excited to be spending this much time in Asia after playing the North American hard court season. While expanding the Asian tour with the addition of the YEC might be welcomed by the WTA, it will give the lower-ranked players an opportunity to accumulate ranking points.

Players party Wuhan. Missing is Serena, Maria and Eugenie in the photo. What does that tell you?

At the players' party in Wuhan
​

#PTL

AngieB

 

[JJGUY]

good suggestion! but Istanbul is not exactly travel friendly for most players in YEC, so maybe we should check how they managed that in the past 5 years.

Nobody in their right mind is going home between Beijing and Singapore unless they live in the region. I've done the China-CA trip many times and the jetlag is brutal...it would be a huge disadvantage. A vacation in Thailand or elsewhere in asia would be the thing to do.

 

[ScottleeSV]

Nobody in their right mind is going home between Beijing and Singapore unless they live in the region. I've done the China-CA trip many times and the jetlag is brutal...it would be a huge disadvantage. A vacation in Thailand or elsewhere in asia would be the thing to do.

Well, each to their own, but I've done 23 hours from Melbourne to Manchester and felt no jetlag whatsoever. And I'm not even an athlete. Is it different from China to CA?

 

[AngieB]

it tells us you are not a fan of China, or Asia as a whole, and we already know that.

Instead of wasting time here on China bashing, why not go to change.org to start a "bring WTA back to USA" petition, they may listen to you.

I don't embrace abject ignorance.

My personal opinion of China is irrelevant. The actions of the players is relevant and more telling than anything you read online. Actions speak louder than words. Their actions say that the top players are having difficulties adjusting their schedules to the new Asian tour. I wouldn't be surprised in subsequent years if there won't be similar withdraws. This year was a warning sign for the future.

#PTL

AngieB

 

[JJGUY]

here is my answer to your or similar thoughts

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=8761567&postcount=201

I don't embrace abject ignorance.

My personal opinion of China is irrelevant. The actions of the players is relevant and more telling than anything you read online. Actions speak louder than words. Their actions say that the top players are having difficulties adjusting their schedules to the new Asian tour. I wouldn't be surprised in subsequent years if there won't be similar withdraws. This year was a warning sign for the future.

#PTL

AngieB

 

[Vanhool]

Well, each to their own, but I've done 23 hours from Melbourne to Manchester and felt no jetlag whatsoever. And I'm not even an athlete. Is it different from China to CA?

I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be argumentative...I can see how it came across that way. I've never made the journey you described so I can't compare.
My girlfriend used to commute it... Gone for a couple weeks, back a couple weeks. I missed her, so one time I booked a cabin in Tahoe for when she came back, and she spent the almost the whole time disheveled in her pajamas. I still have a picture of her in her glasses with her hair all over the place doing some stupid teddy bear jigsaw puzzle lol. We never really had a summer. We finally ended up moving there together for a year (awesome!!!). We meade a several trips back together during that time, then I finally got it. The first few days were really bad, but it would take me 2 weeks to feel normal going to CA, 1 week China direction. I wouldn't want to do that for a YEC, but yeah I'm not an elite athlete....maybe they don't care.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Well, look at the huge prizes in Beijing:
http://www.chinaopen.com.cn/en/scores/ws.html
It's only natural that some of the women might have reserved themselves for it.