WTA bosses to decide fate of Hong Kong in next 3 weeks, says tennis chief, as Peng Shuai saga hangs over sport
- World tennis bosses says city will know by end of March if tournament can return to Victoria Park in October
- Hong Kong Tennis Association says it still owns right to stage event and is in constant contact with officials
Hong Kong tennis chiefs should learn in the next three weeks if the city’s flagship tournament will return or not, a senior official said.
Organisers of the Hong Kong Open have been told by the WTA that an answer will come by late March as to whether the event at Victoria Park can go ahead in October.
Philip Mok Kwan-yat, president of the Hong Kong Tennis Association, said he had “written to the WTA many times” and the organisation still had the right to stage the tournament.
“We have no idea of what the decision will be, but the women’s open is always our top priority,” he said. “Hong Kong is an international city and fans should be given the treat of watching top-class tennis in the city.
“We are now reopen to the world with no more quarantine requirements brought by the pandemic and the government is also in support of staging the event. Everything is ready but the WTA nod.”
The Open, which has been slated for the second week in October this year, was named the WTA International Tournament of the Year when it was last held in the city in 2018.
