World Class tennis once again made a return to Hua Hin for the 2016 World Tennis Thailand Championship held at the brand new True Sports Arena Hua Hin. This year it was the women who came to town to mesmerize and thrill the crowd with their top notch athleticism and skillful play.
Four women competed in this year’s exhibition tournament which included Agnieszka “Aga” Radwańska from Poland. Radwańska is currently ranked 5th best in the world by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 2 in July 2012. For her accomplishments in sport and for representing her country with distinction, in 2013 she was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit by Polish President Bronisław Komorowski.
German born Angelique Kerber is ranked #10 in the world and has won seven singles titles on the WTA tour, as well as eleven singles and three doubles on the ITF tour in her career. On 22 October 2012, she reached her best singles ranking of world number 5. Having made her professional debut in 2003, Kerber was launched into stardom upon suddenly reaching the semifinals of the 2011 US Open, at which time she was ranked 92 in the world. Since then, she has broken into the Top 5 of the WTA Rankings.
Sara Errani is from Italy and is currently ranked 20th. She has won eight career singles titles, and 25 career doubles titles, including five Grand Slam championships and five Premier Mandatory/Premier titles. Known as a clay-court specialist, Errani won three titles on clay going into the 2012 French Open, where she reached the finals in both the singles and doubles tournaments, winning the doubles title with her partner Roberta Vinci.
The female player who created the most excitement however was tennis legend Venus Williams who headlined the same tournament five years ago in Hua Hin. Venus from the U.S. is currently ranked # 7. Venus has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association on three separate occasions. She is credited as changing the women’s game and ushering a new, modern era of power and athleticism on the women’s professional tennis tour. She is also regarded as the best grass court player of her generation and is widely considered as one of the all-time greats of women’s tennis.
The day before the tournament the players attended a press conference at the InterContinental Hua Hin Resort where they were all staying. Former Thai tennis professional Paradorn Srichaphan hosted the event. Khun Paradorn, who was previously married to Natalie Glebova, a former Miss Universe, asked each player about their thoughts on Thailand and Hua Hin. Venus answered that she loved Hua Hin and very much enjoyed her time here five years ago. She remembered strolling thru the night market and said that Hua Hin was one of the few places in the world where she could see herself living, she just needed to convince her dad to move from Florida.
A few hours later, Khun Suwat Liptapanlop, president of Thailand’s Lawn Tennis Association, hosted a cocktail party for the players, sponsors and VIP’s on the rooftop of his True Arena Hua Hin sports complex.
New Year’s Eve day started early for the players with a 7AM call to the beach to give alms to the monks as they passed by. Later in the day the InterContinental’s Culinary Director Glen Roberts and his crew taught the ladies a few things about cooking Thai.
Things turned serious with court action starting at 5pm with the first match seeing Radwanska battling Kerber. The match ended in two sets with Radwanska the victor scoring 6 games to 4 and 6 games to 3.
The last match of the evening saw Williams playing against Errani. Fan favorite Williams outplayed and outscored Erani 6 to 4 in the first set but then ended up losing the second and third sets to Errani 2-6 and 2-4.
The players ended their evening on a high note, enjoying the InterContinental’s Gala New Year’s Eve Dinner and the fabulous fireworks show they are known for.
The next morning Williams and Kerber hosted a tennis clinic for 50 lucky Thai kids at True Arena who were thrilled to be given pointers from the very talented ladies. Thanyapicha Nopjinda, 13, said: “I am very happy to have joined the clinic because they are both world-class players. They are also very friendly. “I use the techniques I learned today to improve my game. My goal is to become a national player and I want to play in international tournaments in the future.”
Later the players headed over to Vana Nava for a tour of Hua Hin’s water jungle hosted by Managing Director Khun Proudputh Liptapanlop and Vana Nava’s G.M. Mike Fijas.
By 5pm it was all business once again with the first match seeing Kerber facing Williams. The match only went two sets with Kerber taking both, 6 sets to 4 and 6 sets to 3. Afterwards William’s said “I enjoyed every activity we had here. I like the people here and I like Hua Hin. Hopefully, I will be here again next year.” Although not happy about losing she was pleased with her tune-up for the upcoming Grand Slam. Angelique Kerber said “This has been a very pleasing trip to Hua Hin and it has also helped me a great deal to prepare for the Australian Open later this month.”
The final match of the 2016 World Tennis Thailand Championship saw Radwanska playing against Errani. The match was dominated by #5 Radwanska from the get go, convincingly beating 20th ranked Errani in two sets 6-1, 6-3. There was a moment in the second set when it looked like Errani might force a third when she took 3 games in a row but in the end it was not meant to be.
Next up for Radwanska is the Shenzhen Open in China while Errani and Kerber head to Australia for the Brisbane International. Williams is off to New Zealand for the ASB Classic.