2011 PTT Pattaya Open
The PTT Pattaya Open is the first stop made by the Women’s Tennis Association after the opening Grand Slam, the Australian Open.
The tournament is held in Thailand, and is named after the venue, Pattaya City. The tournament has been held since 1991, and will complete 20 years on the WTA Tour circuit this year.
The PTT Pattaya Open is categorized as an International Series tournament. It is played on hard court surfaces, and will be held from 7 February to 13 February 2011. The total prize money is $220,000 and the tournament director is Geoffrey Rowe.
The PTT Pattaya Open was a part of the WTA Tier V series for one year from 1991 to 1992, and was classified as a Tier IV event from 1993 to 2000. It was once again categorized as a Tier V tournament from 2001 to 2003.
It was promoted to Tier IV once again in 2005, and has been part of the International Series circuit since 2009. It is one of the longest running events on the Women’s Tennis Association [WTA] Tour.
The tournament director, Geoffrey Rowe, has opted to mark the event’s twentieth anniversary by inviting some of the best tennis players on the WTA to play this year. The playing field is therefore comprised of the strongest pros to grace the Thailand event’s
courts.
The stadium has also been reinforced with extra seats, and a greater number of supporting activities have been organized. An additional stand with VIP seating has been added to the stadium. The capacity has been increased to more than 2500 seats for the
final match.
The event’s top seed is 2010 US Open finalist, Vera Zvonareva, from Russia. The World Number 3 will be making her third straight appearance at the tournament. If she wins the title, it will be her third consecutive victory. It will also mark the first time
that a player wins the event thrice in row.
The second seed is Serbian tennis pro, Ana Ivanovic. Ivanovic is a former World Number 1 and Grand Slam winner, and this will be her first showing at the PTT Pattaya Open. The third seed is Russian pro, Maria Kirilenko, while Daniela Hantuchova from Slovakia
is this year’s fourth seed.
The fifth seed is Roberta Vinci from Italy, the sixth seed is Chinese pro Shaui Peng, Chinese Number 2 Zheng Jie is the seventh seed and Italian Sara Errani rounds off the list as eighth seed.
The PTT Pattaya Open, rated by players as Tournament of the Year in 2010, will also hold a number of activities during this week. The director plans to hold a luncheon for deprived children on 7 February, a coral-planting ceremony to improve marine life
on 9 February and tennis clinics on the second last day of the event.
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