Emma Raducanu, Elise Mertens among the big stars set to grace inaugural Singapore Tennis Open
Anna Kalinskaya and Wang Xinyu are also on the list to feature at the first major tournament to be staged at the new Kallang Tennis Hub
SOME of the world’s top tennis stars, including the 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, will be jetting into town this month for the first Singapore Tennis Open at the new Kallang Tennis Hub.
The week-long tournament from Jan 27 to Feb 2 takes place just after the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, wraps up in Melbourne. This is Singapore’s first tour-level event since the 2018 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Finals.
The Singapore Tennis Open – a WTA 250-level tournament – will be held here for three years until 2027. In terms of ranking, WTA 250 competitions are placed after the Grand Slams, the WTA Finals, the WTA 1000 and 500 events.
BT Weekend looks at four of the players who are receiving top billing in the Lion City:
Emma Raducanu (Britain)
The biggest name by far on the Singapore list is Emma Raducanu, the 22-year-old from Britain who took the sport by storm in 2021 when, as an unseeded player, she clinched the US Open without dropping a set in her 10 matches in New York. That remarkable feat made her the first British woman to win a Major since Virginia Wade did so at Wimbledon in 1977.
The world knew very little of her then, but Raducanu has since become a global celebrity with many lucrative sponsorship deals from the likes of British Airways, Nike and HSBC.
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Among her biggest wins in 2024 was the one over world No 5 Jessica Pegula at the Rothesay International Eastbourne. Raducanu has been beset by injuries over the last couple of years, however. After reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon last July, she sustained a foot injury that sidelined her for much of the rest of the season. Raducanu reached a career-high ranking of 10th in 2022, but she’s now in 60th position.
“My goal (in 2025) is to stay on court longer,” she said after the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November. “I came to top 60 in the world (in 2024), but I played less than 15 events. I know if I’m on court and healthy and competing, I can go even higher and further.”
Anna Kalinskaya (Russia)
The highest-ranked player in Singapore is Anna Kalinskaya, the current world No 14 who made plenty of waves on the WTA tour last year.
The 26-year-old reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open, and made it to the finals of the WTA 1000 Dubai and WTA 500 Berlin.
Kalinskaya’s early claim to fame came in 2019 when she defeated former champion Sloane Stephens at the 2019 US Open. To date, the Russian has three doubles titles, one singles title on the WTA Challenger Tour, and seven singles and nine doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.
Kalinskaya once dated Australian player Nick Kyrgios, and her current boyfriend is Italian world No 1 Jannik Sinner.
Elise Mertens (Belgium)
This 29-year-old from Belgium, who’s currently ranked 34th in the world, has enjoyed most of her success in the doubles events. She’s won the Australian Open twice, and Wimbledon and the US Open once. She’s also a two-time runner-up in doubles at Wimbledon. In all, Mertens has won 21 doubles titles, including the WTA Finals in 2022 with Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova.
In singles, Mertens’ best showing was at the Australian Open in 2018 where she made it to the semi-finals, and she’s advanced to the quarter-finals twice at the US Open in 2019 and 2020.
Wang Xinyu (China)
There will be strong representation from China at the Singapore Tennis Open, and among the players to look out for is Wang Xinyu.
The 23-year-old from Shenzhen, currently 37th in the singles rankings, won the French Open doubles title in 2023.
Last year, she made headlines with a big win over Pegula at Wimbledon, which marked her first victory over a top-10 player. And together with her partner Zhang Zhizhen, the pair bagged the silver medal in the mixed doubles event at the Paris Olympics.
While in Singapore, Wang will be joined by her compatriots Wang Yafan and Wang Xiyu. The trio are ranked among the top 10 players in China.
Entry to the qualifying rounds of the Singapore Tennis Open on Jan 25 and 26 are free. Tickets for the main draw, including discounted bundle packages, are now available here.
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