International, so basically a 250-equivalent.
Happens a bit.thanks…
is it usual to have a dual event where one tour has a higher 'rated' tournament than the other?
thanks…
is it usual to have a dual event where one tour has a higher 'rated' tournament than the other?
It seems that the men's event at Washington DC has been running since the late 1960s whereas this was only the 5th time the women's event at DC has happened. Men's singles has 16 seeds with a draw of 48 whereas the women only have 8 seeds with a draw of 32. That put it on par, more or less, with BOWC at Stanford. However, the BOWC singles draw included 3 top 10 players (would have been 4 if Serena had not dropped out) and 8 players in the top 20. The Citi Open only had 3 players in the top 20 and NONE in the top 10.
That's because Stanford is a Premier tournament, whereas the Citi Open is an International Tournament on the women's tour.
Top 10' players are only allowed to play 2 International tournaments a year and they are not prestigious. Typically there may be one top 10 there and she is usually collecting an appearance fee or vulturing easy points to boost her ranking. I think they're great for the lower ranked and younger players to build their confidence and learn how to win. Or former top players looking to play themselves back into shape after an injury. Or for the local crowd to get to see a star (and she gets a little vacay with a big appearance check). I wish WTA did 250 and 500 like ATP. Instead it's 280 and 470, just a 190 pt differential.^ Not answering the question so much as noting some differences (history and size) between the men's and women's singles events at the Citi Open. The was the actual point of the post.
Thanks, you are correct about that. I was primarily noting the comparable draw/seeding size and also noting the differences in the level of the entrants between Citi Open and BOWC. The difference in prize money and "tier" level of the 2 tournaments certainly account for the differences of the participants. No doubt there is a difference in the appearance money offered as well.