Paul Ryding

Opinion | Double whammy leaves Hong Kong tennis fans wondering what will be served up in future

Top seed Elina Svitolina, already a last-minute replacement, and Caroline Wozniacki succumb to injuries, rubbing salt in open wounds

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US Open champion Sloane Stephens was set to play in Hong Kong but pulled out with a knee injury. It remains to be seen if she will be fit to play at the multimillion-dollar Zhuhai event. Photo: AFP

Paul Ryding

Published: 10:30am, 14 Oct 2017Updated: 12:23pm, 17 Oct 2017

Is it the nature of tennis and more specifically the genuine physical demands of the WTA season, or is there something more Machiavellian at play here? Either way, it’s quickly becoming a familiar routine for Hong Kong tennis fans.

First, the build-up to our showpiece, elite-level, expensively assembled international tournament is littered with triumphant announcements of top-class players scheduled (with varying levels of commitment) to appear at the Hong Kong Tennis Open.

Then, as we edge towards the big launch there’s a smattering of withdrawals and replacements, before we line up with a competitive field – but looking little like the advertisements you might see in the Post or whizzing past on the side of the number 15 bus.

Caroline Wozniacki withdrew after injuring her arm before her second round match at the Hong Kong Tennis Open. Photo: AP

Still, we welcome the start of the tournament in high spirits because, well, it marks one of the precious few occasions when we have a bona fide world standard, professional sports event, and you’re little more than a curmudgeon if you refuse to enjoy that simply because we didn’t get the exact line-up we were initially promised.

However, four years into hosting our shiny new tournament, the realities of our “enviable” position on the WTA tour’s calendar are hitting home.