The 2017 French Open women's singles champion Jelena Ostapenko will compete in a Women's Tennis Association tournament in Seoul this fall, the event's organizers said Friday.
Ostapenko, the world No. 12 from Latvia, will headline the field at the KEB HanaBank•Incheon Airport Korea Open, which will open at Olympic Park in Seoul on Sept. 18.
Ostapenko defeated Simona Halep in the French Open final to win her first Grand Slam title and also her first WTA win. The unheralded 20-year-old had ranked just 47th in the world before the stunning victory.
Ostapenko is the first current Grand Slam winner to play at the Korea Open since 2004, when Maria Sharapova came here after winning Wimbledon.
Also competing here will be a former top-five star from Canada, Eugenie Bouchard. The 23-year-old turned heads in 2014, when she reached the semifinals at the Australian Open and the French Open, and finished second to Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon.
Bouchard has struggled with injuries in intervening years and has fallen to No. 70 in the world rankings. She has one career WTA title.
The Korea Open is the only WTA event held here. (Yonhap)
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In this Associated Press file photo taken on June 10, 2017, Jelena Ostapenko celebrates a point against Simona Halep in the women`s singles final at the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris. (Yonhap) |
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